


Lightning and Thunder

by BlackRavenDreams



Category: Ouran High School Host Club - All Media Types
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Anime/Manga Fusion, Character Arc, F/M, Fluff, Friendship, High School and beyond, I Will Go Down With This Ship, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Kiss Kiss Fall in Love, Kyoya can actually be sweet, Kyoya needs a hug, Kyoya-centric, References to Depression, Supportive Haruhi, Sweet, Teen Romance, They are still in Ouran after coming back from Boston and we just don't question it
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-20
Updated: 2021-02-07
Packaged: 2021-03-08 19:55:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 29
Words: 70,001
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27122147
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlackRavenDreams/pseuds/BlackRavenDreams
Summary: Kyoya expected that Haruhi would need some comforting during a thunderstorm. What he didn't expect was the ensuing romance and resulting chaos. Will they manage to stay together despite the typical Host Club mayhem and arising problems within the Ootori Group?
Relationships: Fujioka Haruhi/Ootori Kyouya
Comments: 109
Kudos: 100





	1. Thunderstorm and Fate

Kyoya sat on his bed, wearing a worn gray t-shirt and black sweatpants. His head was beginning to ache slightly, so he stopped typing and looked up at the storm clouds brewing in the dark night sky instead. A thunderstorm was coming, weather which was not all too uncommon in late March. He frowned, realizing that it was likely that it would last the entire night, meaning that he would no longer have peace and quiet to work in soon. His mind suddenly wandered to a certain brunette with a severe phobia of lightning and thunder. Cursing himself for thinking of her, he went back to analyzing the spreadsheet on his Pineapple laptop

It was seven in the afternoon when the first clap of thunder rang across the sky. His phone chimed immediately afterwards. _Ranka._ He picked up his phone, and then grew frantic when the crossdresser revealed that Haruhi was alone. _She's_ _alone, which means that she's probably somewhere shivering and crying._ Without a second thought, packed his laptop, phone, and homework in his school bag. He did not even think of changing into less casual clothes, simply putting on a maroon sweatshirt on top of his pajamas. Hotta was standing outside his door, and Kyoya quickly told him to get the car. Before he knew it, the Ootori black Mercedes was roaring towards the front entrance of the Ootori mansion.

"Where to, master?" Hotta asked obediently as Kyoya scrambled into the backseat.

"Fujioka residence, and quickly," he ordered Hotta, who nodded and started the car. When they arrived, Kyoya sprung out of the car and _bolted_ to the door leading to Haruhi's apartment, Hotta close behind. "Tell Father when he comes back that I will be spending the night at Suoh's. School project." Hotta nodded once again and went back down to the car. Kyoya was about to knock on the door when he remembered that it would be useless to do so. He took out a set of keys, picked one, and unlocked the door. _Thank god that Ranka gave me the key to the apartment._

"Haruhi," he called gently, as to not scare the already frightened tanuki. "It's me, Kyoya. Where are you?" He heard whimpering coming over from the kitchen. The aroma of freshly-cooked food filled the small two-bedroom apartment. She must have been cooking when the storm hit and sent her running for cover. It was dark, and Kyoya wondered if she had accidentally hit the lights in her hurry. Thankfully, he knew the place well enough to make his way to the kitchen. As he had predicted, there was a pot of miso soup sitting on the stove. However, Haruhi was nowhere in sight. "Haruhi?" he called again. The whimpers grew louder, and he realized that he must be close. He looked under the small wooden table, and just barely made out her silhouette.

He heard about her fear of thunderstorms from both Ranka and Tamaki, but he never understood the intensity of her fear until now. It pained him slightly to see her like this, to see her so scared that she was turned into an immobile, sobbing mass. It was so unlike her usual confident, fearless self. He bit his lower lip and thought of what to do. Obviously, she would need some comfort. He was not exactly the best at that, but any attempt would be better than doing nothing at all, right? It would be nice if he could find something to block out the sound of thunder as well.

He sat next to her and pulled her close so that her head was resting on his shoulder. Haruhi melted into his side. _It feels nice to be next to her_. Cursing himself, he focused on her breathing instead. It was still a bit shallow, but she seemed much less frightened than before. "It's okay, Haruhi. You're not alone anymore," he assured her, his voice a hushed whisper. He could not be sure, but he thought that he heard her mumble a "thanks." He relaxed and pulled out his laptop, taking care not to jar Haruhi's head. Soon he was back to working on the spreadsheet.

It is well-known that rhythmic sounds are perceived as relaxing, and indeed it seemed that the sound of his typing relaxed her. Her breathing slowly returned to normal. As a while passed by, he grew tired. He finished the task and set his laptop, which was still on, on the floor next to him. Ever so slowly, he rested his head on hers. Thunder continued to boom angrily outside, but he felt rather calm with her resting on him

"Haruhi," he said, breaking the silence when Haruhi had calmed down fully. This turned out to not be the best choice, as he suddenly found himself lost for words. What he wanted to express was how upset it made him to see her like this, but for some reason he could not find a way to say this.

"Yes?" she replied, sitting back up. He wished that she had not, almost immediately missing her weight on his shoulder. Her large doe eyes looked up at him expectantly. Still a little unsure of what to say, he stalled by trying to wipe the tears on her cheeks. He felt her flush under his touch.

Noticing this, he finally gathered the confidence. "I am so sorry that you were alone." Haruhi looked blankly at him, as if his words had made no sense, but then she smiled.

"No, don't be sorry. Just...Thank you for coming, senpai. I feel better now. I think I'll manage the rest of the night. You can leave if you'd like. It's been a while." _So she finally realized that a few hours have passed since I first found her_. It was not like he cared about how long he had stayed there, though. It was fine as long as she was not alone. _It's okay, Haruhi_ , he wanted to say, but the words never materialized. When he did not reply, she restated what she had said. "Thanks for staying with me, senpai, but shouldn't you be going?"

Jolted out of his reverie, he replied, "No, I brought my laptop and my schoolwork. If you and Ranka don't mind, I'll stay over for tonight. I told my father that I had a school project to work on with Tamaki." Haruhi deadpanned as he flashed an "innocent" smile.

"But you didn't have to do that, Kyoya-senpai."

"Please call me Kyoya. I'd rather leave the formalities behind," he rather boldly requested before he could stop himself. He almost bit the inside of his cheek from immediate disapproval of what was coming out of his mouth. _What is wrong with me?_

"Alright then, Kyoya..." she said, testing it out. Heat rose to his cheeks, and he was grateful that it was dark. It felt weird to hear her say his name by itself, but in a good way. She again rested her head on his shoulder, and he continued working. They sat in silence as he worked on his essay for English that was due next week. "Hamlet," she said suddenly, breaking the quiet atmosphere.

"Yes. That is what we are reading in class. It's one of my favorites, actually." When he had first read the play when he was much younger, he had hated it. However, when he got older, he grew to enjoy reading it. _Especially_ in its original English. Something about its tragic characters, intertwined plot, and introspective nature appealed to his sentimentalities

"Oh." This seemed to be all she wanted to say, as she again became quiet. When he was done with the essay, he closed the laptop and once again set it to the side.

"Was there a thunderstorm when your mother died or during her funeral?"

Haruhi looked a bit confused by the question but decided to answer. "I remember that there was a thunderstorm the night before she died. I only remember because she told me that the sky was weeping and raging for all those that had been lost. It stuck with me, and the very next day...she was gone."

"I'm sorry for making you remember the awful event. I was just wondering because I...because I read something about phobias." His momentary stutter surprised her, and even himself. Was he really going to be upset about having reminded her of the night her mother died? _The sky was weeping and raging for all those that had been lost. That's an interesting way to put it,_ he mused.

"What do you mean?"

"Fear is a natural reaction to all that could potentially harm you. A phobia, on the other hand, is a debilitating fear of a thing, something that is usually not feared. In fact, most of the time the people with the phobia themselves know that the thing poses no harm, but they still get very, very frightened. It sometimes stems from a highly negative experience related to that thing. The thing itself doesn't have to cause the experience, it just has to be connected to the experience somehow. For instance, you connected thunderstorms to the night your mother died, so you developed a phobia of thunderstorms, also known as brontophobia." Haruhi listened to this long statement thoughtfully, apparently pleased that he was willing to talk.

"Umm, sen-Kyoya, if, _if_ you don't mind me asking, what are you afraid of?"

Kyoya stayed silent, unwilling to say the truth. "I don't have a phobia," he told her rather icily.

"Don't be ridiculous. You have the most intense emotions out of anyone in the Host Club."

He stared at her. "You think so?" It was surprising to hear that she disagreed the façade he had built out of charm and emotional detachment. 

"I haven't met a more passionate person in my life. Tamaki may _seem_ more passionate, but he acts emotionally for the sake of drama, attention, or for others. You, on the other hand, hide your passion. You are very driven and will do anything to please the ones you care about." He inhaled sharply. Besides Tamaki, and now her, nobody had probably come even _close_ to understanding him.

 _No point in lying._ "I have a fear of being seen as imperfect — atelophobia," he said hesitantly and quietly. "I also have thanatophobia, or a fear of death and losing the ones I care about."

"Oh. I think that makes sense. How do you think you got those phobias?" Her large doe eyes stared at him as she waited for an answer.

He regained his composure. "My father. I'm sure you realize that I strive to be the very best. As for my thanatophobia, I've visited different hospitals since I was four. My father does run a medical zaibatsu, after all. There I learned the hard way that life is transient, and that things can change in a sudden moment. I think anyone would fear death after that." Haruhi did not seem to believe that that was the entire truth, but she did not press him to explain further. He felt something click in her mind.

"You know, I hate your father." This decisive, bold statement momentarily rendered him speechless. For what seemed like the hundredth time, her confidence and bluntness shocked him.

"I-I do, too," he whispered, scared of the truth behind the statement. He hated his father for pretty much everything he had to deal with. _I cannot wait to get out of his grasp_ _._ "I can't do anything about it."

She simply nodded. "I get it. I hope you realize that you are more than good enough, though. In fact, there were times when I forgot that you were human. You are so talented and diligent. Not to mention that your lack of obvious emotion is outstanding." He started snickering. He could not help it.

"I don't seem human sometimes? That's an interesting thought." He continued snickering as Haruhi's eyes widened ever so slightly. Soon his snickers turned into loud laughter.

"You're-you're laughing?" she said in awe. "You can laugh!" This made him laugh harder, and soon she joined him. Both of them forgot that only a few hours ago, Haruhi had been hiding underneath the table and shivering with fear. The storm was long forgotten.

Kyoya suddenly remembered that it was late and that Haruhi would have usually been asleep by now. "Hey, Haruhi. Shouldn't we eat and go to bed?"

"Hmm, you are right." Something seemed to dawn on her, and a slight blush tinged her cheeks. "We don't have an extra mattress for you to sleep on, and Dad locks his bedroom before leaving for work." Kyoya understood the situation immediately and tried to dissipate the awkwardness. _What is this, a two-people-one-bed romantic comedy scene?_

"That's not an issue. I was going to sit on the couch and work." He did not sleep that much, anyway. He was not so keen on having Haruhi deal with demon-lord Kyoya in the morning, either.

She frowned and narrowed her eyes. "No way in hell, Kyoya. You are sleeping." _Great._ He considered himself to be very obstinate, but Haruhi's brand of stubbornness was not for the faint-hearted. Besides, he had to admit that sleeping on the same bed as Haruhi did not sound _too_ bad.

Before he could curse himself for acting like Tamaki, a warm bowl of miso soup was handed to him. Realizing for the first time that evening how hungry he was, he took large spoonfuls of the salty broth. Both of them eagerly finished their bowls of soup. "Haruhi, you are as good of a cook as your father says you are. It was delicious."

Haruhi blushed slightly and put the bowls in the sink to wash later. "It's just miso soup, but thanks, sen-Kyoya. Sorry that I didn't have time to make anything else." He assured her that it was fine before grabbing his bag. They headed to her bedroom. He looked around with mild interest. The bed, as he had expected, was small, but looked very comfortable. _Cozy_. Haruhi, meanwhile, seemed more awkward now that it was time for them to sleep. Seeing this, he once again tried to avoid having to sleep with her.

"You _sure_ you don't mind if I sleep on the couch instead?"

Haruhi huffed, taking a look at the bed and realizing that he had a point. "Fine. Promise that I won't find you awake at four in the morning?"

"Okay, I'll sleep." Haruhi smiled and tossed a blanket and a large pillow at him.

She went and got ready for bed, and he went back to the living room. He took off his glasses and sweatshirt and placed them on the coffee table nearby. After fluffing the pillow to his liing, he plopped down on the couch and put the thin cotton blanket over him. He smiled as the light turned off in Haruhi's bedroom, and he imagined her sleeping peacefully, her body wrapped in a fluffy comforter.

At first, he found it impossible to sleep. His mind kept racing as it rushed to process everything that had happened that evening. He just could not stop thinking of her. He lay on his back and stared at the ceiling, wondering if it was even worth having these feelings towards a commoner. Finally, he began to grow tired.

Suddenly, the light turned on in her bedroom, and Haruhi stepped into the living room. "Kyoya? Are you sleeping?" Kyoya turned and faced her, rubbing the fatigue from his eyes.

"I was about to fall asleep, but I'm awake," he said sleepily. _Otherwise things would not have been pretty._ "You scared?"

She flushed scarlet and nodded. "Could I...Could I sleep with you? On the couch? Dad isn't back yet." He stared at her and barely kept his cool façade.

"Why not?" She nodded gratefully. Wondering how Haruhi could possibly be so naïve, he watched as she ran to turn off the light in her bedroom. He nervously ran his fingers through his hair and sighed, but figured that he should be glad that she was finally willing to ask for help.

She then joined him on the couch, laying practically on top of him. He shifted slightly, and felt warmth rise to his cheeks (again) when she wrapped her arms around him. She was small enough that it was not uncomfortable to have her lay on him. In fact, though he would never admit it, it felt strangely good to have her arms around him. He ran his fingers through her soft hair.

"You know, Kyoya..." she started hesitantly, trying not to move and disturb him. "....Your heart is beating really fast right now." Kyoya felt himself flush pink.

"Umm...I don't know why."

"Oh, okay. I was just wondering if you are uncomfortable or something." Quiet returned to the room, and Kyoya again marveled at how naïve she was.

Even though it was rather late, he wished she would talk some more so he would not have the time to think, because every thought was about her. Sure, it was a stretch to believe that hearing her speak would not affect him, but it certainly was better than getting lost in various thoughts about her.

Not even five minutes had passed before the silence was broken. It was as if Haruhi had heard his plea. "You know..." she began rather nervously. "I think I might like you." His eyes widened. _Trust her to say something like that so suddenly, even though her feelings certainly are anything but sudden_. Playing Tamaki's wingman had taught him that. _I never though she would be able to work out romantic feelings without a whole lot of intervention._ _After dating Tamaki, she is more self-aware, I guess. But me? Did she just say that she might like me? That's impossible._

"You like me? Me? Are you sure?" Haruhi guffawed softly. "What?"

"I said that I _might_ , and we've talked about this before. You are amazing, Kyoya. You are so passionate and can be so kind. Sure you are arrogant and sadistic, but that's part of who you are."

Kyoya grinned. _Might as well tell her how I feel, even though I can't believe that she likes me._ "I never expected you to like me. I think I love you. I finally realized that I had fallen for you when we were in Okinawa, though I was in denial for a long time."

"Love...me?" she spluttered. He was sure that if the light had been on, he would see that Haruhi had turned beetroot red. For some reason, that thought pleased him. "You...ah...um...I...um...I..." He wondered how simply liking someone could possibly make the usually deadpan and somewhat callous natural host so flustered. _She did the same thing when she realized she had feelings for Tamaki. Oh my god, she does like me. How is this even happening?_

"For the first time, I realized that if you died...I was so upset when it happened that I..." He could not get himself to finish the thought. "I didn't, and still don't, want to see you hurt, that's all." His vision clouded a bit, and he hoped that he was not about to cry in front of her. It would be rather bad for his image, after all. Careful not to accidentally hit her, he lightly dabbed his eyes with a fist as a small toddler would do. He cursed himself for losing his cool. Suddenly, he felt her tighten her grip on him.

"Kyoya, I...Is that why you came here?"

"Yes."

"Thank you." The corners of his mouth curved into a smile. He had done a lot of uncharacteristic things so far that evening, but he was thankful for the chance Haruhi had given him. The girl was more than special, and as he felt her drift off to sleep, he felt happier than he had in a long time. Soon, he too fell asleep. Neither of them noticed when Ranka came back from work.


	2. A Devious Kiss

When he woke up the following morning (without an alarm clock, which was something new), he found himself still entwined with Haruhi's body. Surprisingly, she was still fast asleep. In a strangely good mood (most likely due to the fact that he was well rested for once), he smiled as he watched her sleep. "Haruhi," he called softly. Her eyelids began to flutter, and she slowly began to wake up. She stood up and rubbed her eyes, and his heart skipped a bit as he noticed how cute she looked. _What is wrong with me? Cute isn't supposed to be in an Ootori's vocabulary._

"G' morning, Kyoya. Thanks for letting me sleep with you." He chuckled as she went to her room to get ready. As he changed as well, a grin crossed his face. _Yesterday night really happened, didn't it?_

He heard her wake her father up, and by the time he went to the kitchen, both Ranka and Haruhi were eating breakfast. Haruhi blushed slightly when she saw him, and he smiled back. The cross-dresser flashed him his own goofy smile. "KyooooYAAAA! How NICE to see YOUUUU!" Kyoya cringed internally at the overly dramatic greeting, but he maintained a respectful smile. He was used to drama after being best friends with Tamaki for three years.

"Good morning, Ranka. I'm glad to see that you are well." Ranka bubbled with excitement. Haruhi looked like she wanted to disappear.

"I'm EVER so grateful that you came yesterday. Haru here was just telling me about how you came in and helped. Not that I'm shocked, of course." Kyoya, acting pleasantly surprised, smiled in Haruhi's direction. The brunette simply flushed a deeper scarlet.

"It was not any trouble." Ranka nodded empathetically.

"I woke up too late to prepare breakfast, so we are having cereal. Want some, Kyoya?" Haruhi asked, coming out of her embarrassment. Ranka looked pleasantly surprised at the lack of an honorific at the end of the name but did not say anything. Kyoya sat down next to her and poured himself a bowlful of cereal and milk. When he was done, Ranka cajoled him into eating some more.

Kyoya wished that all his meals were like this. The atmosphere was warm and friendly, nothing remotely close to what he was used to. Back at the mansion, dinner was mostly quiet, and if a conversation was started, it was mostly about furthering the Ootori Group and what it would take to lead the zaibatsu.

After breakfast, Ranka insisted that they head off to school early. Kyoya shot him a look, but Ranka simply smiled. He practically flung their bags and coats at them, and they were unceremoniously ushered out the front door. They stood on the stairs and looked awkwardly at each other. Ranka was definitely not inconspicuous about what he thought about Kyoya and Haruhi.

Kyoya finally took out his cell phone. "I am calling Hotta right now. It's rather cold out and I insist on giving you a ride."

"Kyoya, that's a bit too much for me. I can walk to school." He frowned, causing her to laugh. "Fine," she said, surrendering, "I accept."

He called Hotta and instructed him to pick the two up. Hotta, eager as always to follow orders, told him that he would be there in fifteen minutes. Kyoya put his phone back in his bag and smiled in satisfaction. An idea then crossed his mind, fueled by what had happened the previous evening. "Haruhi, do you think Ranka saw us sleeping on the couch?"

Haruhi furrowed her eyebrows, but then her face lit up and she snorted. "Probably. That would explain why he was so excited this morning. Again, thanks for sleeping with me." _Utterly naïve._

Kyoya smirked. "You know, I think you owe me." Haruhi deadpanned, and he internally laughed at her expression.

"What do I owe you?" Kyoya pretended to think about it.

"I think a kiss would suffice."

Haruhi turned beetroot red, and for a moment he thought that he had gone a bit too far. However, she started to smile. Still a bit red, she nodded. "I think that's fair." Kyoya grinned. He put a hand on her chin and gently raised her head so that she was looking up at him. He leaned forward and pressed his lips against hers. She responded by threading her fingers in his hair and pulling him closer. His mind going hazy, he put one hand on her waist and the other behind her neck. Her lips were softer and sweeter than he had expected. For perhaps the first time in his life, he enjoyed something sweet. His fingers began to slide down the back of her neck, tracing its shape. He felt Haruhi smile against his mouth. "It seems that you have done this before, Kyoya," she remarked as they pulled apart.

There was no way that he would pass an opportunity to pull at her a bit. Another idea formed in his mind. "Perhaps I have," he replied, smirking. 

"Really? You say this now? Doesn't seem like you." Haruhi deadpanned, as if she felt that she should have known better. Kyoya's smile softened, and he swept some stray hair off of her forehead.

"But this was my first kiss that matters." This was true. All of his other kisses had been fake, only used to placate some of the more annoying girls his father asked him to get to know. _Tamaki_ had even kissed him once before, but that was just, in the blond's own words, "practice" (whatever the hell that meant). As predicted, Haruhi's face turned tomato red. She quickly muttered something incoherent and looked away. He put a hand under her chin and gently moved her head so that she faced him. "Aww, did I find your weakness?"

Haruhi's face turned an even darker shade of red, and she muttered something darkly under her breath. It sounded suspiciously like, "Tamaki got to you." "Go to hell," she finally said out loud. It was hard to take her anger seriously when she was a full head smaller and looked like a thirteen-year-old.

"I'll see you there, then," he replied with a mock seriousness.

Haruhi laughed, the sound buoying around them. "You are quite different without your Shadow King persona. If I didn't know you well, I would think that you're acting quite out of character. Actually, you sort of are, but...You know what I mean," she remarked happily but slowly, as if she was thinking of the best way to word what she was thinking, an effervescent grin on her face.

At that moment sleek black Mercedes pulled up, and Kyoya and Haruhi got inside. "I'm just happy, I guess." This was an understatement. Optimism seemed to flow through his veins. When a certain thought began to nag him, he pushed it away and kept smiling. _Is this what being in love feels like?_ He did not know how long this high of a new romance would last, but he was sure that they would stay together as they learned more about each other. _Are we together?_

Unfortunately, he could not stay up on a cloud forever. When they finally arrived at Ouran and he caught sight of a certain blond that had been the subject of his negative thoughts, his bubble burst for good.


	3. And So the Bubble Burst

Kyoya felt his breathing quicken sharply as his mind went haywire and his optimism left him. _How could I have let myself stupidly get carried away? What do I do about Tamaki?_

"Uh oh," Haruhi said as she saw what he was looking at. "Tamaki's here. Even though we broke up a while back, I don't think he would be happy to see me with you."

Kyoya just nodded, not wanting to think about how upset his friend would be if he knew the truth. Tamaki was someone who easily got carried away. _Hold on_ , _I can use that towards my advantage right now_. Kyoya drummed his fingers on his legs as he formulated a plan. Haruhi looked at him quizzically — no doubt she was wondering why he was acting so strangely. He sighed before hastily explaining what he wanted her to do.

Tamaki's violet eyes followed Kyoya as he stepped out of the Mercedes. "Kyo-YA!" Kyoya swore he saw a few sparkles dancing around the hafu. _Sigh._ Kyoya felt his façade slip into place, and his fretting was replaced with irritation.

He was at least grateful that Tamaki had not noticed Haruhi, who was still in the car. "What is it now, Tamaki?" The thus-addressed blond pouted at Kyoya's lack of enthusiasm, but then quickly recovered and continued talking with his usual gusto. Kyoya was grateful that Tamaki was the way he was, because then Kyoya could be his normal Shadow King self and still keep the blond distracted (read: no amount of sarcasm could stop Tamaki and his unrealistic dreams).

"But Mommy, I had the best idea for a cosplay!" Kyoya rolled his eyes, but, like always, his mind was already working out a budget for the cosplay. Meanwhile, he knew, Haruhi was slowly getting out of the other side of the car.

"Okay," Kyoya replied as coldly as usual, taking out his black notebook and hoping that for once Tamaki's idea was not too over-the-top. "Let's hear it."

"I was thinking...What if we do a magical creature cosplay? We can decorate the room and make it look like an enchanted garden. I could be a merman, guiding the princesses of the Host Club across the sea." Kyoya resisted the urge to whack Tamaki in the head and instead took a deep, somewhat calming breath. _To imagine that I was worried about him._ The calm did not last long, unfortunately, as Tamaki continued rambling. "You would make a great vampire. Haruhi can be a fairy. We can have a fountain and worn-looking marble statues. We'll change the lighting to reflect the fairy-tale atmosphere! Don't you like that, Kyoya?"

 _I DON'T like fairy tales or magical creatures. And how on Earth would a vampire costume fit the enchanted garden_ _décor?_ A vein in his face twitched as he rethought the budget. It would cost a ton to turn the room into an enchanted garden, and then there were the costumes to worry about. Outfits were pricey and had to be tailor-made, not that Tamaki cared. The blond was going on about having small animals to complete the magical creature theme (Kyoya was not sure he heard correctly, as the idea sounded even more preposterous than normal). _Apparently he can't see the tick marks that appear on my head every time he comes up with a stupid idea, which happens much more frequently than I would like._ Oh well, he would try to find a way to make it work. If it was not possible, he could always have Tamaki "conveniently" stumble across a better idea. He had actually been thinking of revisiting a tropical theme (his personal favorite) anyway. They should be able to do a passable French Polynesia cosplay by making _relatively_ cheap (nothing could possibly be cheap when it came to the Host Club) alterations to the costumes and decorations they had already used in previous cosplays. Of course, he would have to do some research first before finalizing anything.

He had not noticed Haruhi approaching from behind the blond, which made it seem like she just arrived. _Quite impressive._ "Did I just hear that I should dress as a fairy?"

"You'd be soooo cute!" Tamaki started to rant about how adorable she would look in a fairy costume, causing Kyoya and Haruhi to raise their eyebrows in annoyance, though Kyoya secretly agreed. _Haruhi would look good as a fairy and would attract a lot of clients. It'll be good for the Host Club, even though I doubt she would agree. She hates extravagant cosplays as much as I do._

Sure enough, she quickly shot down the idea. "No way in hell will I dress up as a fairy. Come up with a better idea for a cosplay." Kyoya chuckled as Tamaki ran off to brood in a nearby corner. Haruhi could be so blunt at times. "Maybe I shouldn't have revealed that I was a girl to the others before going to Boston," Haruhi mumbled to herself. She sighed and turned to Kyoya. "Hey, are you planning on hiding it from him forever?"

He shrugged carelessly, but it was actually bothering him. Now that Tamaki was not annoying him, worry flooded back. How was he going to tell Tamaki when the time finally came? It was only a matter of time before Tamaki got suspicious. The blond could read him like a book. He would be off in his world of dreams of grandeur and then, when Kyoya least expected it, would suddenly pause and stun him with his keen observations. Haruhi seemed to understand his concern and patted his shoulder. "We'll figure something out, okay?"

Kyoya was not looking forward to the mayhem he knew would soon come.

He somehow managed to go through his first few classes without drawing Tamaki's attention, but he should have known better than to think that it would last. As he headed off to German class, his last class of the day and the one class he did not have with Tamaki, a kohai accidentally bumped into him, knocking both of their bags onto the floor.

Already feeling miserable enough, he started to fume as he looked at the books and papers now strewn all around them. He was grateful that the hallway they were in was empty, but it was small comfort. He was about to give the person his infamous glare when something about the kohai's appearance registered to him. It was Haruhi, looking down at their scattered belongings with a shell-shocked expression.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to—" Realization dawned on her. "Kyoya?"

"Haruhi? You should watch where you are going. I'll get the books for you." He bent down to pick up the books, and he saw her kneel beside him out of the corner of his eye.

"It's my fault I bumped into you. I should be the one picking them up." He froze as her hand brushed his as she made for the book he was about to grab. As she went to grab another book, he snapped out of his daze and picked up the two books lying nearby.

"Let me help." Finally, with all their things back in their bags, Kyoya and Haruhi got off the ground.

"Umm, sorry. You are probably going to be late for class now. Better get going." He simply nodded curtly and walked away. Suddenly, he saw a streak of blond going past. Tamaki must have seen them and realized something was going on. After all, it was not like Kyoya to act nice — genuinely nice, not as part of a façade — to someone who bumps into him in the hallway.

After apologizing to his German teacher for being late, he sat down and started translating the sentences on the worksheet the students were working on. Kyoya's mind wandered to Haruhi. How on Earth was he going to hide his feelings from Tamaki? Thankfully, the Host Club was not meeting that afternoon, meaning that Tamaki could not interrogate him then. Instead, the blond would probably go to the Ootori mansion after school.

Kyoya just had to make sure that Tamaki did not find him there.

When class was over, Kyoya headed outside and stepped inside his family's Mercedes before Tamaki got the chance to catch up with him. "To the Fujiokas, please," he ordered Hotta, who nodded and started driving. Looking out the window, he saw Haruhi getting out of Ouran and heading in the same direction. He felt bad for making her walk, even though he knew that she was probably used to it and that waiting for her would have given Tamaki time to find him and figure out the truth.

When he arrived at the apartment complex, he stayed in the car and waited for Haruhi. There was no point in getting inside her apartment before she came. Finally he saw her approaching, and he got out of the car to greet her

"Haruhi!" he called as he jogged towards her. "Hey." She looked stunned, but then smiled.

"Hey. Did you want to stay at my apartment for a while?" she asked shrewdly as they walked up the stairs towards her apartment.

"Yes. Sorry to impose myself on you so soon after school." 

She shook her head. "It's fine. Why are you acting cold and formal with me again? Are you worried about Tamaki?"

They stood in front of the door to her apartment, an awkward silence between them. _How is she able to see through me like that?_ "Maybe I am," he replied after a while.

She looked at him quizzically before opening the door and motioning for him to come inside. "I usually have some tea when I come home. Would you like some?"

Being with her was already making him feel better. He smiled and nodded in reply. Before he knew it, they were both wearing more comfortable clothes (he had conveniently left his clothes from yesterday at her apartment) and sitting under the kotatsu, quietly sipping tea (with very little sugar, as neither Haruhi nor he liked sweet food) and enjoying each other's presence.

He put his cup of tea down and finally spoke. "I need to ask you something, Haruhi."

She set her own cup of tea down on the kotatsu. "Go ahead."

"Do you...Are we together? I mean, after what happened, it seemed like we are, but it's so difficult to tell, and..." His words came out hesitantly and slightly jumbled, and he mentally chastised himself for struggling with his words.

"I think I wouldn't mind being your girlfriend." A confusing mixture of relief and guilt washed over him. "Why do you ask? Are you feeling unsure? Did you not really mean what you said last night? Because..." She turned red and did not finish her sentence. _Because what, I wonder._

He decided to answer her question honestly. "I want to make sure that you feel the same way, so that I know that... _us..._ is worth it. Especially as this might hurt Tamaki."

Haruhi cocked her head. "Why won't you tell him and just get it over with?" she asked bluntly.

He thought about this, but then shook his head. "It's not that simple. I won't be able to forgive myself if this seriously upsets him. And I know it will. How could it not? I feel so guilty." He found it difficult to look into her doe eyes and instead focused on the design of the cloth covering the kotatsu.

"You really do care about Tamaki, don't you?" He could feel her smiling softly in his direction.

His head still bowed down, he sighed as he tried to word what he wanted to say. "Yes, he means a lot to me. At a time when I felt down and decided to give up on doing anything great with my life, he came in and taught me how to _live_." He began to fiddle with his fingers. "He taught me to enjoy life to its fullest, to dream, and to never give up. It's because of him that I want to keep trying. It's because of him that I want to act on my ambition. I owe him so, so much...but now I could possibly hurt him." His eyes began to sting painfully. He blinked away his tears and took a deep, shaky breath to steady himself.

She patted his shoulder and gave him a quick peck on the lips. "I still think you should go ahead and let him know. If it was me, I would feel much better knowing that my friend trusted me enough to tell me, even if it hurt. Tamaki would feel worse knowing that you tried to keep it a secret from him, especially as he is your best friend."

"You're right," he admitted, pursing his lips in thought.

Haruhi picked up her cup of tea and started slowly sipping her drink. "I actually don't start studying until six in the afternoon, because Dad insists that I take a break after school. We have around an hour left. Do you want to do something until then?" She flushed a brilliant scarlet.

Kyoya hid his smile by taking a sip of his own tea. "I don't see why not. Do you have something in mind?"

Haruhi grinned in return, her face still red. "Perhaps."


	4. Movies and Fluff

They got up and headed to the living room. "I was thinking we could—" Haruhi started.

"—watch a movie," Kyoya finished, noting the way she was looking at a box he knew was filled with DVDs next to the small TV.

"How do you do that?" Haruhi deadpanned.

Kyoya shrugged. "You were eying that box over there." He often found it entertaining to see how people reacted when he made an astute observation, even though he decidedly did _not_ find it entertaining when others made similar observations about him (though he supposed that he did not particularly mind Haruhi reading into him every once in a while).

She chuckled. "Okay, Shadow King. I'd like Kyoya back now, thank you very much." He let out a chuckle. "Tamaki and I used to watch movies all the time when we were together, so I just thought the two of us could do the same. What type of movies do you prefer?"

Kyoya thought about this for a second. "Something that makes me think. I like complex characters and a plot that draws me in. I _don't_ like sappy dramas and showy action flicks. If I can't find anything good, I usually watch a documentary." Not that he watched much TV anymore, of course, but he certainly loved good books, TV series, and movies. _Death Note_ had been one of his favorites.

"That certainly sounds like you," Haruhi replied as she rummaged through the DVDs in the box. "I have to admit that sappy movies are my guilty pleasure, and Dad and I often watch them together. They are corny, but enjoyable. Tamaki, as you could imagine, absolutely adored them." Kyoya snorted, knowing from experience that the blond loved drama, romance, and adventure movies. _Thought so.While Haruhi and I are similar, we don't have much in common._ "I do sometimes watch more cerebral films every once in a while, so there might be something here that we would both like. Can't find one, though. Wait, hold on...I think I..." She pulled out a particularly colorful DVD case. "There we go."

He read the title. " _Paprika_. It's directed by Satoshi Kon. I've heard that it's really good."

"It is. Let's sit down and watch, shall we? We won't be able to finish the movie now, but if you are planning to stay the night again, we can finish it before going to bed." Kyoya smiled as she set an alarm on her phone. Being the serious student that she was, Haruhi was determined to sit down and work as soon as the required break was over.

"It's better here than at the Ootori mansion, so I _am_ actually planning to stay. Also, it's nice spending time with you." Haruhi flashed an adorable grin. _Calling her cute again? She's driving me crazy..._

Soon, they were both sitting on the couch, with Haruhi cuddled up next to him (it had taken a while to assure her that while he was not one for affection, he did not really mind). As Kyoya watched the colorful scenes unfolding on the TV, he thought about how comfortable and relaxing, even, it felt to be with Haruhi.

It was strange, really, considering how he had learned from a young age not to cherish anything. There was a time when he believed that such feelings would only lead to pain on his part. The crippling fear of disappointment, his father's cutting words, and the way others burned fingerprints into his thoughts all taught him well. As far as he had been concerned, possessions were fragile and human affection was fleeting. That sentiment had partially been thrown out the window when Tamaki had stormed into his life, but it completely shattered when Haruhi stepped into the music room. Even though the logical part of him told him that he had officially lost his goddamn mind, he could not help himself from falling desperately in love with her.

 _Maybe,_ he decided, _it is because I do not have a façade to maintain around her._ There had never been any need to, as he knew from experience how good she was at reading into him. She saw through his smile that never reached his eyes, the hidden smirk behind his glasses, and his invisible frowns. She would find the silent spark behind his manner of speaking. She probed (with frightening accuracy) the seemingly ambiguous gestures, the words that really conveyed a deeper meaning, the undisclosed implications he thought he hid so well. She never fell for his calculating demeanor. 

Kyoya looked down at the tanuki resting her head on his shoulder, wondering if she understood exactly how much she meant to him from the moment she had stepped into Music Room 3, how conflicted he had once felt about his feelings until a trip to Okinawa and the Izumi Shopping Center made the truth abundantly clear to him. Feeling his gaze on her, Haruhi looked back up at him with large doe eyes.

Almost magnetically, their lips met in a kiss. The scene on the screen in front of them seemed to fade, lost into the background. It felt even better than the one they had shared in the morning, and he found it impossible to stop. He felt himself grow in confidence with every kiss, and she matched his intensity. He never imagined that the afternoon would go in the way it had, but he was not about to complain. Instead, he focused on committing everything to memory: how she threaded her fingers in his hair, the slight taste of tea with the sweetness he remembered from earlier, the slightly chapped but soft feel of her lips, the emotions swirling through him as he was slightly pressed against the arm of the couch.

Haruhi sighed as the alarm on her phone went off. "It's six o'clock. Time for us to do our homework." She turned off the TV.

"You have good taste in movies, by the way, even though you do prefer more sappy ones."

"What do you mean? We barely even watched the movie, you know."

Kyoya grinned. "I had already watched it before, but I didn't want to say anything. That way, I could get distracted and not miss much. Not that I actually intended it to go like that, though."

Haruhi flushed scarlet for what seemed like the hundredth time that afternoon. "I didn't expect that, either, but it was good."

Kyoya ruffled her short hair, which she had cut after the Host Club had come back from Boston. "Hey, this is new for me, so I'm just as nervous. In a good way."

"Really? You seem pretty comfortable, though."

"I am comfortable around you, but that doesn't mean that I'm not nervous." Haruhi laughed in a way that made him smile. He put an arm around her and gave a gentle squeeze. "I love you."

"I love you, too." His heart fluttered. _So that was the "because" earlier._ "I've decided that I love you. Now let's go get some work done, okay?"

He could get used to this, he decided as they settled down with their homework in front of them. Now, he just had to ensure that Tamaki would not get too upset about it.

Haruhi got up and went to the kitchen an hour later to prepare dinner, a simple stewpot. Kyoya, unbeknownst to her, looked up from his laptop and silently watched her cook. He found that she worked quite messily in the kitchen, yet she did not seem particularly sloppy. There was an order to the chaos, he surmised as he watched her cut some shiitake mushrooms. He had not realized how long he had been staring when a sharp _ping_ from his laptop, announcing that he had received an email, brought him back to reality. _Right. I'm supposed to be figuring out what to do about the cosplay...and Tamaki._

After putting everything in the pot to simmer, Haruhi sat down next to him, her head resting on his shoulder. Her eyes fell upon the laptop screen in front of them. "You're ordering Hitachiin brand costumes?" she asked, intrigued by the drawing of a vampire costume he was currently looking at. The Hitachiin logo in the corner of the image marked it as a genuine Hitachiin design.

"Yes, Hikaru and Kaoru usually design costumes during the lunch break and send it to me for approval. If I agree with their designs, I pay an agreed upon amount — a slight discount from what one would usually pay for custom Hitachiin. The twins then send the designs to their mother, who has a few seamstresses prepare the costumes for us."

"Oh wow. So the costumes don't really come out of thin air?" she asked half-sarcastically and half-surprised.

His fingers stopped flying around the keyboard as he paused to smile. "Usually it would be more difficult to get custom-made costumes on par with what Tamaki wants, but there are some perks that come with being connected to the Hitachiins." He pulled up a picture of a frilly pink dress with translucent wings on his laptop. "What do you think of this fairy costume?" He already knew the answer she would give, but still asked anyway.

"Nope."

 _As expected._ Kyoya nodded as he went back to typing at a furious pace. "Right. I'll just have Tamaki come across a different idea. After I tell him about us and sort everything out, of course." _We are going with the French Polynesia cosplay, then._

Haruhi snickered at his comment. "Without your façade, you are even more calculating." This made Kyoya crack a rather demonic grin.

Then, he remembered something. "Hey, I was just thinking...I'll be graduating this year, so I need someone to manage the club when I'm gone. Unlike Honey-senpai and Mori-senpai, I don't think I'll have much luck sneaking out of university to participate in the Host Club."

He did not have to clarify further. "So you want me to manage the club in the future because you know the twins and Honey-senpai, smart as they are, will not be able to?"

Kyoya lifted his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "Not that they won't be able to, but I trust you a lot more than I trust them when it comes to a job with responsibility."

The next thing he knew, he was showing her how he maintained the club's budget and planned out cosplays and events for the Host Club.

"It was actually quite interesting," she said as they ate dinner after his crash course in Host Club management. The stewpot tasted rather good, and he had to once again admire Haruhi's cooking.

"Glad you think so. Like I said, you're the perfect person to replace me when I'm gone."

Haruhi smiled. "But you'll still call me and help out if I need it, right? And you'll still be close by?"

While he liked her fierce independence, he was glad that after all the mayhem the Host Club members went through together, she understood that she no longer had to stubbornly deal with everything alone. "I'm still planning to study in America, so I'm not sure that I'll be nearby, but I promise to call you every day." _Wait...are we planning the future with each other? The second day we are together?_ It seemed that they were, and Kyoya rather enjoyed it, though he was not sure when he had turned into a pile of sugar (or at least that was how he imagined it). _Too sweet. Get a grip, Ootori._ But he already knew it was a lost cause: he could not help himself from acting that way around her. He would simply have to get used to it, or so he supposed. The thought almost made him laugh. _I have to get_ _used to how sweet I can be?_

Haruhi jolted him out of his thoughts. "So you are planning on going back to America? Well, I'm glad to see that you are still intent on attending an university there. And it's rather sweet of you to say that you'd call me every day." She paused, as if pushing back what she was about to say, and then changed the subject. "But what about your family? Won't they have a problem with you dating a commoner?"

He shifted uncomfortably, as his family was a topic he did not particularly want to talk about. "Well, to be honest, I don't particularly care whether they like you or not. However, I think my father is rather impressed by you. He sometimes asks me about you, in fact."

She looked surprised. "Really?"

"Really. I'm more worried about Tamaki at the moment."

She nodded and took Kyoya's hand in hers. "I'm sure everything will work out in the end." Kyoya gave her hand a squeeze and returned the smile.

"Me too," he replied, confident for once that things will pan out well.

More food, hours of studying, a bunch of planning, the rest of _Paprika_ , and some sleep later, it was finally time for them to go to Ouran Academy. In other words, it was time for Kyoya to tell Tamaki about him and Haruhi.


	5. Finally, It's Time

Once again, they were unceremoniously ushered outside by the over-eager Ranka. "It's scary how much he likes you," Haruhi remarked.

Kyoya did not reply as he was lost in thought. "It'll be fine eventually, you know. Just tell him the truth," Haruhi reminded him, reaching up and patting his shoulder.

"I know. I really do believe that it will. I'm just a bit nervous." She nodded in reply, and Kyoya sighed before getting into the waiting Mercedes. Haruhi, meanwhile, had already started walking to Ouran. They had decided that they should go to Ouran separately that morning, and then travel together after Tamaki was informed — they thought it was best for Tamaki to hear the truth from Kyoya instead of figuring it out by seeing them together. During the ride, Kyoya hurriedly went over what he planned to say.

The blond was waiting at the entrance, and practically bounced over to Kyoya when he stepped out of the car. "KYOYA!" _Sigh_. "I was looking for you yesterday, but Fuyumi told me that you weren't home!"

"I _wasn't_ home," Kyoya informed him. "Is there something you wanted to ask me? That's why you were looking for me, right?" He sounded calm enough, but his heart was beating rather loudly and erratically.

"Well, I was just wondering...Is there something going on between you and Haruhi?"

Kyoya swallowed rather painfully, but made sure not to make his discomfort obvious. "Why do you say that?" he replied cautiously.

"You're acting very differently around her. So, is there something going on there?"

Kyoya bowed his head. "Actually, there is. Umm...I have feelings for her."

The blond looked at him curiously, most likely due to his hesitancy. "You do?"

Kyoya steeled himself and looked back up into Tamaki's slightly wet violet eyes. "Yes, I do. I've felt something towards her for a long time now. She's smart, understanding, goal-oriented, blunt, unusually perceptive, a bit naïve, and...and I love her, Tamaki. I love her so, _so_ much." He was glad that Tamaki did not interrupt him, as he would probably lose his nerve once he stopped. Instead, the blond merely listened, apparently stunned into silence. Kyoya had an iota as to why: he had not been so open with Tamaki since that certain day back when they were in their third year of middle school. "She's someone who I can have a nice, intelligent conversation with, and she isn't clingy or overly-affectionate, so she would be fine with giving me space when I need it. More importantly, with the exception of you and Fuyumi, she's the only one who can see through me, the only one who bothered to try to know me." Kyoya was practically rambling at this point, and was glad when he finally shut his mouth.

Seeing that he was done talking, Tamaki finally spoke. "Wow, I..."

Kyoya realized that he had forgotten to add one crucial bit of information. "Wait, there's more." _Well, that came out awkwardly._

"Oh?"

"During the thunderstorm the other day, I went to comfort her. Afterwards, she told me...She told me that she liked me as well."

"Are you guys together?" Tamaki's voice broke at the last word, and Kyoya's stomach turned to lead.

Kyoya nodded. "I'm so sorry, Tamaki. I know you were probably hoping that you and Haruhi would have worked something out and that you guys would have a future—"

Tamaki shook his head and interrupted him. "No, no, no! You shouldn't feel sorry for following your heart and finding happiness. You know, I think I'm happy for you and Haruhi. She's moved on to someone who's a much better fit for her, and you are finally doing something for yourself. I promise that I'll get over the initial upset." It reminded Kyoya of his own sentiment when Tamaki and Haruhi dated. _I was willing to let her go because I knew that she would have been much happier with him at the time._ He realized that he, in fact, had always been focused on others: he often worried about how his classmates viewed him, how to satisfy his father, how to keep Tamaki happy...Maybe this _was_ the first time he was doing something for himself.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. I'll also help you break the news to the rest of the Host Club when the time comes."

"Thanks." Tamaki flashed him an assuring smile, and Kyoya smiled in reply. The first bell rang, signaling the start of the school day.

It seemed that Tamaki was true to his word and quickly returned to his perky self. _It's not even faked, either, as one would usually expect. He really is okay with all of this._ Watching the blond interact with the rest of the class, Kyoya had to admire the blond's tenacity and ability to overcome adversity through incredible optimism.

Kyoya wanted to meet up with Haruhi and tell her how it went, but he did not see her in the hallway between classes (though he knew where her classes were, he _also_ knew that she probably would not like it if he waited outside her classroom during a transition period) or even during lunch (she often brought food from home and ate in an empty classroom). He mulled over his remaining options when school was over. The Host Club was not meeting that afternoon, so that was out; she was not outside the entrance after school, so he could not offer her a ride and talk to her during the drive; and he did not want to invite himself to her apartment after school again. _Oh well. I'll call her when I get home_.

But he had no such opportunity. As soon as he entered the Ootori mansion, his sister glomped him.

"KYOYA!" she cried enthusiastically.

"Sis...What are you doing here? You know Father doesn't like it when you visit. You should be home with your husband."

She finally pulled away from him. "Kyoya! Can you not be so cold for once. You know Father is going to be away until late into the evening. Besides, I simply had to come! Tamaki told me that you have a girlfriend! It's Haruhi Fujioka, right? The scholarship student that used to date him, right? The one you told me was impressive? Tamaki told me she was impressive, too, and that he was a bit hurt, but happy for you guys." She said this in one drawn-out breath, in the same fashion as Tamaki when he was excited. _That's a neat summary of everything._

Leave it to the blond to call Fuyumi and tell her about Haruhi. "Yes, I was at her house the past two nights. Tell Father and I'll _murder_ you, understood?"

She blinked once, twice, before returning to normal. "Oooh, you stayed at her house the past two nights? How _scandalous_!" He deadpanned. "But you have to tell me more! You don't understand how worried I was about you!"

This surprised him. "You were worried about me?"

She sighed. "Akito, big brother, and you were bred to become profit-driven and ice-cold businessmen. They became detached and devoid of emotion. But you...You were always different, in a way. So when you began to also shut your emotions off in your determination to please Father, I was scared. I was scared that you would forsake your happiness for success and that your smiles would slowly become fake and emotionless, just like theirs. And for a while, you were like that. You pushed everyone and everything away, resolving to only do things that would bring you closer to success. But now you found friends, love, and joy."

Kyoya nodded. He understood what she meant about him becoming ice-cold and emotionless. From a young age, he had learned from observation that people lived in glass boxes, trapped inside lives of masks and façades. He, too, had lived inside a glass box from where he could watch others while hiding any vulnerability. It was just better to seem detached, especially when his life centered around building networks and proving himself as the third Ootori son using finely-honed psychological talent and business acumen. But then he found an anomaly: two people who confidently lived without walls of glass and were almost impossible for him to figure out. Tamaki and Haruhi, the human tsunami and the ordinary commoner, entered his life and steamrolled through his façade, tearing it apart as easily as if it were a piece of paper. His glass box shattered, and he began to see the world in color. Color that he had not even known he so desperately needed. 

But he did not say all of this out loud. "Yes, I am happy with her. She is intelligent and perceptive enough to see through me. That's all I need, really: for someone to care for the real me."

"I know about Tamaki, but is Haruhi really that incredible? To be able to see through you like that and make you feel comfortable enough to be yourself...For someone who knows so much about human psychology, you sure like to shut off your emotions." She shook her head for emphasis.

Kyoya's eye twitched. "Fuyumi, are you here to diss me or learn more about Haruhi?"

Fuyumi looked scandalized. "Learn more about Haruhi, of course! But you have to admit that you usually have a hard time expressing yourself emotionally."

He sighed in surrender. If Fuyumi wanted to hear about Haruhi, so be it. "All right, all right. I get it. I'll tell you more about her once I give her a call, okay? I need to talk to her about something important."

She nodded furiously. "Okay, later."

After assuring her that he will not go back on his promise to tell her more, he went into his room and sat down on one of the couches. Tachibana had already placed Kyoya's usual after-school tea and snacks on the coffee table in front of the couch. He took a sip of the tea. It was the perfect temperature and had only a little bit of sugar, as was his wont. Relaxed, he took out his phone and called her.

_"Kyoya? What's up? Did you and Tamaki work things out?"_

"Yes. He said that he's a bit upset, but is glad that we are together."

_"Wow, that's great. Tamaki's nice, so I knew he would eventually be happy for us."_

"Yeah, I was just worried that he would be really hurt."

 _"I know. You don't have to repeat yourself."_ This made him chuckle, and he heard her laugh, too.

"Fuyumi's waiting for me to spill everything about you and me, so I better get going." Haruhi laughed harder.

_"Okay, see you later, then."_

"Wait. Would you like to go out for dinner sometime?" Now that Kyoya was sure that their relationship would not hurt Tamaki too much, he was determined to go on a proper date with her.

 _"Dinner? Are you...Are you asking me out?"_ He could practically feel her face grow warm through the phone.

"If you don't want to, you don't have to. I hope I'm not making you too uncomfortable. I'm not very good at this."

She laughed again, and relief washed over him. _"Oh no. I'm the one that is not so good at this, even after I've dated Tamaki. I just can't seem to get the hang of it. The slightest display of affection can throw me off."_ Kyoya chortled, and was about to assure her that he was much worse when it came to romance, but she continued talking. _"Anyway. I'd actually love to go have dinner with you sometime."_

 _Yes!_ "We'll work out the details later. Fuyumi's still waiting. Bye!"

_"Bye!"_

He spent the better part of the next _two hours_ telling his sister more about Haruhi, which was exactly how he imagined spending his afternoon. _Sigh._ He ended (or hoped to end, at least) the conversation by telling her that they were going on a date soon. But then Fuyumi insisted that Kyoya had to be the one to plan their first date, much to his chagrin. " _You're_ the boyfriend, you know."

"What? Haruhi isn't like those silly fangirls who can't decide things for themselves."

"I know," she replied assuringly. "You guys can plan stuff together later on — that's how dating works — but it's proper for you to plan the first date, not to mention that _you_ are the one who asked _her_ out for dinner. I thought you like planning things?"

"But I'm the opposite of romantic and sentimental."

Fuyumi shook her head. "Kyoya, you should have seen your face when you talked about her. You definitely _seemed_ romantic and sentimental. Or at least more romantic and sentimental than you are willing to admit."

"But—"

"No buts. Ah, I remember the first time my husband took me out on a date." She went on to ramble about how her arranged marriage worked out so well. Kyoya, unnoticed, quickly made his escape.

He mourned the two hours that he had lost and focused on getting everything he wanted done. It took time and effort to keep his place at the top of the class, maintain his social circles and networks, help with Ootori Group finances, _and_ run the Host Club behind the scenes. Tachibana (who knew his moods fairly well) dutifully brought dinner up to his bedroom, as he often did when Kyoya did not have to eat dinner with his father. After a few hours of staring at his computer screen, Kyoya sighed and decided to take a quick break. Lying down on his bed, he thought of possible ideas for their date. With a smile, he remembered how Tamaki had come over to the Ootori mansion with the rest of the Host Club for several days in a row just to get help with _his_ first date with Haruhi. While Kyoya had been annoyed back then, now he only sympathized. It was, he found, quite difficult to come up with the perfect first date.

What he did know was that he was not going to take her to an amusement park. No offense to Tamaki, but they were not Kyoya's thing (or Haruhi's for that matter — he bet that she only enjoyed it because Tamaki was with her). _Maybe I'm overthinking this. Should I just take her to a sushi restaurant?_ All the restaurants he went to were really expensive and had a rather serious and formal atmosphere, which Haruhi would normally find uncomfortable, but he knew that she did not mind such inconveniences when it came to anything dealing with food. She could be quite the glutton, despite her insistences to the contrary.

This reminded him of some memories, and suddenly a clichéd lightbulb turned on in his head. He sat up and grabbed his phone. Two anxiety-filled minutes passed before she finally picked up. "Hey."

 _"Hey."_ She yawned sleepily. It sounded like she had been deep asleep when he had called, though he could not imagine why. _"Why are you calling me so late? I was expecting to be woken by the alarm clock, but here you are."_ He checked the time on his laptop and internally facepalmed. How on Earth had he not realized that it was past two in the morning? _Nice work, Ootori._

"I just had a question. I've already decided where we can go for dinner, but...Would you like to do something before then? We could meet at six o'clock and then go to dinner later."

 _"Sure, but only if we decide to do it on a weekend. I need to study on the weekdays, and you guys usually disturb me on the weekends anyway."_ Kyoya laughed. Tamaki and the twins were rather fond of visiting Haruhi, as he knew so well because they often wound up dragging him with them to the hapless commoner's apartment.

"Okay. Would Sunday work for you?" It was Friday night — Saturday morning, technically speaking — so he would have the rest of the day _after_ he woke up at noon to work out further details. Which was good, considering how much he had left to do before going to bed.

_"Sounds perfect. Now go to sleep."_

He cringed. "Sorry about that. I didn't realize it was so late."

_"I was talking about you. Go to sleep. If you don't, I'm going to have Tamaki barge into your room early in the morning."_

His eyes narrowed into slits. "You wouldn't. I have things to do, and I prefer working at night." If she _did_ send Tamaki, he hoped that he had an oven large enough to stuff the blond into. And a grave.

Or maybe not, as he really owed Tamaki. _"And_ I _prefer that you get some rest. Staying up late and then sleeping until noon on the weekends is not healthy for you."_

He huffed. "Fine. I'll leave my work for the morning." Whether he would be in the mood to do work early in the morning or not was an entirely different question, one that he did not want to think about right then.

 _"Good."_ Her tone became warmer. _"See you at six on Sunday. Unless Tamaki decides to drag you guys to my house before then."_

"Yes, see you then."

_"Bye."_

"Bye." He hung up and lay back down on his bed again. Memories and thoughts floated in his mind until, finally, he fell fast asleep.

Tachibana was pleasantly surprised when a well-rested-and-normal-acting Kyoya was ready to start his day at nine o'clock on a Saturday morning.


	6. Something Beautiful

Tamaki attempted to wake Kyoya up early Sunday morning.

"KYOOOOOYAAA!" the blond cried as he shook Kyoya. _I slept at six-thirty in the morning. What does he want now? I don't care if he let me have Haruhi. I'll kill him._ He glared at Tamaki. "You're going on a date with Haruhi tonight?" Tamaki continued. _Does he have any brain cells?_ "You must tell me ALL about it tomorrow!" _Nope, not a single one._

The events that followed, unfortunately, are not to be disclosed due to a contract signed shortly after. It is referred to as the "Awakening of the True Demon Lord" by the few who heard about it before Kyoya eventually _handled_ whoever leaked the information. What can be said, however, is that the victim fully recovered. For the most part. _Quite an interesting Sunday, I suppose._

At last the time came for him to pick Haruhi up.

Kyoya paced outside the apartment complex Haruhi stayed in that Sunday, trying desperately to calm his uncalled-for nerves. _Not good. Not good. While it's okay to admit that I'm not that confident when it comes to romance, I can't let myself get so nervous over such things as a simple date. Thank god I'm a few minutes early._ To reassure himself, he mentally reviewed his plans for the date.

Finally, when it was exactly six o'clock, he went up the stairs and stood before the front door of her apartment. Taking a deep breath and double-checking that his clothes were still neat (for a wrinkle on his pants or dress shirt would be nothing short of disastrous), he knocked and waited. Ranka opened the door, looking positively elated to see him standing there.

"KYOYA! How nice to see you! And it's six o'clock on the dot, too. How _punctual_ you are!" Kyoya had actually been more than punctual, but under no circumstances was he going to reveal what he had been doing before finally making his presence known. "Come in, come in! Haruhi is almost ready. You'll just have to wait a few more minutes."

"Thank you," Kyoya replied cordially.

"So, where _are_ you taking Haruhi?" Ranka asked excitedly after Kyoya took off his sports jacket and settled down on the couch, which he had become quite familiar with after the events of the past few days.

"Roppongi Fukuzushi." Kyoya kept his words to a minimum, instead continuing to focus on his plans for the date. He stared at his black Italian leather dress shoes.

A dreamy look came over the transvestite. "Ah, I heard that place is quite classy. How WONDERFUL! But it's only six. Are you planning to take her somewhere else before having dinner?"

"Yes."

" _Where_?" Ranka seemed rather disheartened by Kyoya's curt replies.

"I'd rather it be a surprise." Ranka looked even more distraught. Sensing danger, Kyoya quickly added, "I'm sure you'd hear about it from one of us later."

This, thankfully, seemed to appease Ranka. "I trust you, Kyoya. There better not be any funny business."

Kyoya shook his head and smiled in assurance. "I promise."

Footsteps approached from Haruhi's bedroom. "Ah, here she is, my _darling_ daughter." Kyoya looked up with sudden interest. Earlier that morning, he had sent her one of Fuyumi's dresses (along with some accessories that he quickly bought at a boutique yesterday) after assuring Haruhi over the phone that it would not be overly extravagant (that would not be to _either_ of their tastes), and he was curious to see how it looked on Haruhi.

He froze. Haruhi looked positively radiant, her natural beauty accentuated with some light but expertly-applied makeup (done by Ranka, no doubt). The simple but elegant cream-colored silk dress, with its sweetheart neckline and frilly skirt that ended right above the knees, brought out her soft, pale skin and her chocolate-brown hair and eyes. A black leather jacket and matching crossbody bag accessorized her outfit. _She looks exceptional._

Desperate to ground his thoughts once more, he worked out an estimate of how much her dress and accessories cost. _Let's start off with around ¥100,000, as it is Hitachiin. Add another ¥70,000 for being custom-made and not part of a collection. The design has Kaoru's unique flair, so another ¥20,000 for the rarity of the designer. The alterations that had to be made to the dress so that it better fit Haruhi cost almost ¥80,000. The jacket and bag cost another ¥80,000._ That brought the grand total to approximately ¥350,000. He wondered if Haruhi knew how expensive the outfit she was currently wearing was.

He had not realized that he had been staring at her the entire time until Ranka loudly excused himself and brought him out of his thoughts. Kyoya stopped thinking of money and internally scoffed, knowing that the transvestite was listening from the kitchen. Based on the twitching of her eyes, it appeared that she knew as well. He cleared his throat. "Haruhi, you look even more breathtaking than usual." She blushed and beamed tremulously. _Adorable._ He was not sure, but he thought he heard Ranka attempt to stifle a not-so inconspicuous squeal. _He's just as bad as Tamaki when it comes to stalking others._

"You think so?"

"Mm-hmm." He pulled her into a quick kiss, and she turned a deeper shade of scarlet. _I did not think that was possible. If she blushed any harder, steam would pour out of her ears._

"You know, you also look rather nice. Your onyx eyes are really pretty, and black and lavender complement them perfectly."

That...was not what he had expected. The natural host could be surprisingly _charming_ when she needed to be. He made a little choking sound. "Is that so? I was going to wear the customary white dress shirt with my black jacket and pants, but Fuyumi insisted on a _lavender_ dress shirt. I see that it was the right choice in the end." She untangled herself from him and sweatdropped as he pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

"Why bother trying to boost your already inflated ego?" she mumbled, mostly to herself.

He smirked. "Yes, why bother?"

"That was a rhetorical question!" She glared at him before bursting into a fit of laughter. "Smartass." This was followed by more laughter.

 _Success._ Kyoya smiled warmly as he heard her laugh, though he would rather die than confess that he had missed the sound dearly the past two days. "It runs in the family, I dare say. Are you ready to go?" Kyoya asked as he grabbed his sports jacket.

"Yes," she replied, still laughing. She put on a pair of black wedge sandals (gifted to her last week by the twins, along with an array of clothing and accessories — something about them wanting to fix their doll's fashion sense, if he recalled correctly) before opening the front door and stepping outside. Kyoya followed her to the black Mercedes waiting outside. _The shoes look rather nice. Different from what she usually wears, but nice._

Kyoya checked his watch after they got into the car and was alarmed to find that nearly half an hour had passed. "Great. Turns out that picking you up was much more time consuming than I expected. We'll have to hurry so that we won't be late for dinner afterwards." With thinly veiled irritation, he then added, "I have no idea why the writer decided that this chapter was a good idea."

"I'm sure the writer will get a move on with the story sometime soon," she assured him.

"The writer better remember who I am," Kyoya said, flashing an innocent-looking smile. Haruhi sweatdropped and muttered something about his smile being the exact smile a seven-year-old would give when they open their Christmas presents.

"You're rather scary, you know?" she finally told him.

Kyoya chuckled. "Do I terrify you?"

She shook her head and reached for his hand, which had been lying between them. "Not really. At first you did terrify me, but once I got to know you better after a while, you no longer did."

"Good."

Haruhi smiled. " _Anyone_ would say the same once they got to know you."

"Is that so?" he asked, intrigued.

"Yes. You may act intimidating, but you are a nice guy and actually seem quite _sad_ at times, as if life has drained you. Sometimes I wonder if you realize how lonely you really are. But, being the ambitious and determined person that you are, it doesn't seem like you are willing to give up. At least not anymore."

 _I don't know what to say to that._ Kyoya stared into her brown doe eyes, which were looking at him expectantly. Finally, after a few minutes, he found his tongue again. "That's an interesting analysis," he replied carefully.

Just then, the car slowed to a stop, temporarily ending their conversation. "We are here, Master Kyoya."

Haruhi glimpsed outside to see where he had taken her, and seemed momentarily speechless.

He thought that it was worth bringing her here just to see her reaction. "What do you think?"


	7. Kyoya's Not-So-Reluctant Night Out!

"You brought me back to the Izumi Shopping Center?" she asked in disbelief.

"Indeed. There is an exposition going on today, and I thought we could look around."

Haruhi smiled. "Felt a little sentimental when you planned all this?"

He returned her smile. "Perhaps. So, are you interested?"

"Of course I am. You came up with quite the idea."

Smiling, Kyoya then got out of the car and went to open the door for Haruhi, who promptly told him that she could have done it herself. "I know. It's just proper." _Now that I'm not going "incognito" — in the words of the wife of the CEO of a major electronics company — here, there are some things that are expected of me._

"Right," she deadpanned as Hotta drove away to wait in the parking lot. People were beginning to stare at them, wondering why two teens dressed to the nines were standing in front of the shopping center. "People are looking, you know."

"Yes. We are probably going to attract some attention due to our clothing, but it can't be helped. You do not want to wear commoner clothes in the restaurant that we are going to."

"Of course." She mumbled something that sounded like "rich bastard" and shook her head. In a sudden change of tone, she then asked, "Will there be ootoro?" Her eyes began to sparkle at the thought.

"Why don't you wait and see?" he replied with a grin before checking his watch. "We should go inside and check out the expo."

"Let's go, then." Kyoya spent the better half of the next forty minutes walking around the Izumi Shopping Center with Haruhi, who enthusiastically looked around at various sales (she mumbled darkly about not being able to really take a good look at the products the last time she attended the expo) and did her best to ignore the attention they continued to receive from the others. She held his hand as she went from stall to stall, not just as a gesture of affection (he knew her well enough by now to not expect _too_ much physical affection from her, which worked out fairly well for him), but also out of a desire to keep him with her in the midst of a bustling crowd. He was rather amused by what he saw. _Everything here is so cheap and these discounts are rather nice, though the products are not as high quality as those which my family purchases, accounting for the lower prices. As for the discounts, I'm sure that that owners just give these products a relatively high sales price to begin with and then give discounts and such to draw in commoners. It's an intriguing marketing scheme._

"Look!" she said, holding up a pretty porcelain vase decorated with white, red, and purple flowers. "It's thirty percent off!"

"Do you like it?" he asked, taking a good look at the vase. It was much cheaper than the ones that he was used to seeing, but it was rather pretty. _At least the vendor is not trying to sell it as a genuine Komatsu vase._ When she nodded in reply, he took out his wallet and gave his credit card to the vendor, who looked stunned to see that such a wealthy couple was interested in his goods. _Well, he's half-right. I'm rich, but she's just a commoner. A commoner that I couldn't help falling for._ The vendor nervously wrapped the vase in tissue paper and bubble wrap before putting it in a plastic shopping bag.

"Here you go, sir," he blurted as he handed Kyoya the bag and credit card.

"Kyoya, you didn't have to..." Her sentence trailed off and she turned red.

"It's okay. I have more money to spare than you do. You run all the errands for Ranka and work hard to manage the money you have, so I would feel bad if you had to pay for something like this. Besides, I owe you for the last time we were here."

Haruhi surprised him with a hug. He stiffened with shock but then relaxed and (with uncharacteristic clumsiness) returned the hug. "It's only a few hundred yen, but I really appreciate it. Thanks."

 _And here I thought that she would be mad that I paid for her._ "You're welcome."

They continued their exploration of the products on display. He noticed that several girls were gawking at him as they walked around, but, as he had predicted, they were not bold enough to talk to someone who was so obviously rich. _Unlike last time, when a few girls decided that it was a good idea to approach me when I was in a bad mood and was with Haruhi. At least we weren't together back then, and at least they aren't bothering us now because of our clothes._ He made sure to give them his host smile when he passed nearby.

"If being an Ootori is hard, at least you get to enjoy your family's wealth," Haruhi told him while he bought her a pair of small faux-pearl earrings that had caught her interest.

Kyoya stared at her before replying. "After the age of ten, only the heir or heirs have access to my family's funds. As any heirs hadn't — and still hasn't — been chosen yet, my two older brothers automatically gained the right. Once _I_ was ten, my father gave me a hundred thousand yen as a sort of initial investment and said that I was on my own financially unless I prove myself to be worthy of being the heir. My billions of yen come from stocks, investment pools, and some of my own business ventures."

"You're independently wealthy and have to pay for everything yourself, then?" She seemed somewhat peeved with this insight into his situation.

"Yes. It comes in handy quite a bit. Didn't you wonder how I bought out the entire Ootori Group during the Ouran Fair last school year?"

"Huh, I guess I never wondered how. Didn't you give the company back to your father, though?"

"I returned management to him, yes, but I still own quite a bit of stock in the company."

"Right," she deadpanned. "You will always be you."

"Indeed." He grinned.

After they were done looking at the various vendors and had purchased some melon-flavored snacks for Tamaki and the twins, they finally went back to the car, which Hotta had driven back from the parking lot. "It's been forty-three minutes since we came here." Kyoya said, looking at his watch again and addressing Hotta. "Drive quickly and take the most efficient route. We have a reservation at 7:45 that we don't want to miss."

"Yes, Master Kyoya."

"Time for dinner!" Haruhi exclaimed happily. It was rather amusing to see someone who was usually so stoic and deadpan get so excited over food.

They pulled up to Roppongi Fukuzushi, and Kyoya once again helped her out of the car. "If we go on more casual dates, I promise that you can get out of the car yourself," he told her when she looked chagrined.

"Fair enough. I guess you do have an image to maintain around others."

"Thank you."

Haruhi suddenly linked her arm with his. "Let's go," she said with an unaffected grin that made him smile.

Once they were seated and the food was brought to their table, Kyoya found that bringing her here had been a good decision. Haruhi took an instant liking to whatever food was given and practically glowed with food-induced ecstasy. He learned that they both were fond of gunkanmaki and sashimi, though she was shocked by the costly ingredients and the amount of wasabi he liked to add to his sushi. While she did her best to deal with the uptight atmosphere, Kyoya still had to assist her at times as she was not used to what she called "rich people food."

"Why aren't there any prices on the menu?" she had asked indignantly when she first saw the menu, causing Kyoya to laugh softly.

While eating, she eagerly talked to him about topics such as the merits of globalization and a capitalist lifestyle. Even though some of her views differed from his own, Kyoya still appreciated such intellectual conversation. It felt refreshing to freely converse with someone who could match him mentally. _So different from what I'm used to, and I like it._

At last it was time for them to leave, as Kyoya was not about to get on Ranka's bad side so soon. He thanked her as they got into the Mercedes and headed back to her apartment.

"Whatever for?" she asked, surprised.

"For being you. I haven't been able to really discuss my views on such topics with anyone before, so this was quite nice."

Her face turned red. "Oh, I...I should thank you for all of this. It was a lot of fun, actually."

"I'm glad you enjoyed yourself."

When they arrived at the apartment complex, they stood outside in an awkward silence. _What am I supposed to say or do now?_ In a moment of what he could only call incredible bravado, Kyoya bent down and kissed her. He leaned against the car with her fingers in his hair and thought that he would never forget this night. "I love you," he told her breathlessly as they separated.

"I love you, too."

Suddenly, from the side of the complex came an "aww" and then the sound of hushed scolding. Kyoya's eye twitched, while Haruhi almost astral projected out of shock.

"Come out, Tamaki. I know you were stalking us the whole time." The blond was shoved out of his hiding place. "Who else is with you?"

Tamaki dragged Kaoru (Kyoya did not even need to see the twin's hair color to be able to tell that it was him) out of where they had been hiding. They both shivered violently out of fear as Kyoya glared coldly at them. "We just wanted to see how the date went!" Tamaki cried.

Kyoya ignored him. "So, Tamaki told you, Kaoru?"

The redhead sighed in relief and nodded. "Yeah, only he and I know. Milord wanted to tell Honey-senpai and Mori-senpai, but we didn't get a chance to talk to them, and as for Hikaru...We decided to wait until we tell him about you guys."

"I see," Kyoya deadpanned. His glasses began to glint ominously.

"Noooo! Don't kill us! I'll make it up to you! I'll—" Tamaki wailed.

"—decide to do a French Polynesia cosplay instead of a magical creature cosplay this upcoming Friday?" Kyoya finished with a smile.

"Sure!" the blonde replied quickly. "We'll do a French Polynesia cosplay."

Haruhi laughed after Tamaki and Kaoru left. "Wow, Kyoya. That was quite cunning."

He smirked. "I have no idea what you mean, Haruhi."

More laughter was her reply. "Good night."

"Good night."

That night, he stayed up and wondered what miracle had brought her to him. Little did he know until the following morning that circumstances (somewhat) outside of his control were already beginning to conspire against him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The fic is turning into a shameless mix of the manga and anime. *sweatdrops* Hope you guys liked this chapter!


	8. Determination and Dreams

Kyoya woke the next morning to find Kaoru lying down and reading a book next to him on the bed. Amber eyes met sleep-encrusted onyx ones. _Eurgh. I stayed up too late for this._

"What the hell?"

The redhead snickered as he got off the bed. A wave of drowsiness swept over Kyoya, and he suddenly yawned and faceplanted onto his pillow. "Well, that's not a very nice greeting, is it? I've been waiting for hours."

Kyoya attempted to mask his confusion with curiosity. "Hours? What time is it?" he asked, his voice muffled by the pillow.

"Almost noon." _What about school? Oh, right. The heaters at Ouran crashed and need to be fixed. I read the email last night after I came home, but forgot all about it._ "When I came in, I heard your alarm clock ring and saw you fling it across the room, so I decided to let you sleep." Kaoru continued to snicker, to Kyoya's great annoyance.

His fatigue slowly turned into irritation. A dark aura began to envelop him. "Because there is no school today, you decide to come into my room without letting me know beforehand? We saw each other last night! I said this so many times before, but you are quite the troublesome kohai. What did you come here for?" Kyoya, his face still buried in his pillow, waved an arm for emphasis.

"Nothing." Kaoru replied honestly. _Figures. To imagine that I thought that he wanted to talk about Haruhi or Hikaru._ "I got your mail."

Kyoya quickly sat up. "You touched my mail without asking?" Kaoru laughed nervously. "Give it to me."

Kyoya went through the envelopes. They were all from relatives of CEOs of various companies, which he would have to reply to soon if he wanted to maintain his connections. He froze when he saw the last one.

Tearing open the envelope, he pulled out the letter inside.

_Dear Mr. Ootori,_

_I am writing to congratulate you on behalf of Harvard University for our acceptance of your application to enroll in our program this..._

Kyoya did not read any further and faced away from Kaoru to hide what he was thinking. _This is what I wanted for a while now, but I don't know how I'm going to break the news to Haruhi. She seemed fine when I told her that I still plan on attending an university in America the other day, but she might get upset if I tell her that I definitely am going to America. I never thought the two of us would start dating, so I did all of this without worrying about her. Why do I make things so complicated for myself?_ He composed himself before turning back to Kaoru.

"Lemme see that!" Kaoru snatched the letter from him. "Harvard?" he asked, his brow creasing.

"Indeed. I'm sure you can read."

"So, you really are going to study business in an university in America instead of going into the medical field. Are you planning on breaking the news to your father soon? The school year ends in less than a month." _Right. That's what the others would wonder about, but I already thought about that. It's not what I'm going to do that worries me, it's what my father might do in response and how Haruhi will react to the news._

"Yes, I have prepared for this moment. Like I said before, I'm going to achieve my goal in another way." _I have surpassed my brothers, and I've been thinking of surpassing my father since the resolution of the Suoh scandal._

Kaoru looked impressed. "Quite ambitious. Does that mean that you're finally going to break from the Ootori Group and forge your own path?"

Kyoya lay down again, his head resting on his arms. "Seems like it."

"Then how about you talk to my dad about becoming the CEO of his company? Hikaru and I want to manage our mom's fashion company."

 _What? This is news. Hayato Hitachiin is a large software developer. Taking control of his company would be amazing._ Kyoya thought about it. This could be exactly what he needed. "All right, I'll talk to your father, and then go from there."

"That's exciting! You know, I think you're finally starting to complete your character arc." _Huh?_ "You know, all of the other hosts' problems are fixed. Tamaki had already begun reconciling with his grandmother even before the Suoh scandal, and afterwards she became rather fond of him. Honey and his brother are fairly civil nowadays. Mori learned to accept that he isn't responsible for every little thing in Honey's life. Hikaru dyed his hair a darker brown so we can be told apart. But you...You remained trapped in your own lonely little world. It's like you refused to see that there are other things outside of the Ootori Group, other opportunities out there for you if only you tried."

Kaoru was so different from his twin at times that Kyoya wondered how anyone could have gotten them mixed up before Hikaru dyed his hair. "That's an intriguing notion, in its own way." _But why isn't he mentioning Haruhi? I'd have thought that he'd bring her up when talking about my future plans. Well, I don't have time to think about it right now. I'll just talk to him and Tamaki about Haruhi later. It's best if I send him away now while I figure things out myself._ "Kaoru, if that is all, I need you to leave. I'm really busy, and you're wasting my time."

"Fine." Kaoru grumbled, but then cheerfully added, "Good luck, Kyoya-senpai!"

As soon as Kaoru left, he jumped out of bed and got his laptop. Now that he could see his future, he was more determined than ever to find a way to leave the Ootori Group. Tachibana came in to give him breakfast, but Kyoya left the food untouched beside him on a coffee table. He had more important things to do. His father and his brothers were in yet another business meeting at a client's house, so Kyoya had the entire mansion to himself (not counting the servants, off course), which was just how he liked it. More importantly, it would prove handy for what he was planning.

One by one, he hacked the cameras inside and outside his father's study so that the visuals looped, making it look as if the area remained empty the entire time his father was away. Then he carefully took a key he hid inside a violet vase (one of the many gifts he had received from Tamaki during the duration of their friendship) and stealthily made his way to the study, making sure that none of the servants saw him do so.

Unlocking the double doors and closing them behind him, Kyoya found himself facing the large wooden office desk which he so often saw his father sitting behind when Kyoya was called to speak to him. He had not really thought of it before, but the desk really did fit the intimidating aura of the gigantic study. Steading his nerves (something he had been doing quite a lot of recently), he walked up to the desk and sat down on the custom-made leather chair right behind it. Now he was actually _sitting_ at his father's desk. There must have been a bit of his father's energy in there, because sitting on his chair made him feel powerful.

But he had not come to merely observe the study from his father's point of view. Taking a bobby pin from his pocket, he picked the lock on the largest drawer. _Click._ He held his breath as he opened the drawer, revealing what must have been hundreds of manila folders, each labeled with the name of someone who may benefit the Ootori Group. He searched for a name he knew his father must have added after the events of the Ouran Fair. As the folders were all in alphabetical order, it did not take long for him to find what he was looking for.

_Haruhi Fujioka_

_Age: 16_

_Birthday: February 4th_

_Gender: Female_

_Height: 5'2" (158cm)_

_Blood Type: A_

_Ethnicity: Asian_

_Nationality: Japanese_

_Relatives:_

_Ryoji "Ranka" Fujioka (father)_

_Kotoko Fujioka (mother, deceased)_

_Kyoya Ootori (friend, boyfriend)_

_Tamaki Suoh (friend, ex-boyfriend)_

_School: Ouran Academy_

_Occupation: High school junior, member of Host Club_

_Strengths: Smart, ambitious (wants to become a lawyer), not afraid to say what she believes_

_Weaknesses: No significant wealth or social status, knows little about business_

Kyoya already had this information in his own file, so he was not particularly interested in this data. _Of course he found out about us dating, even though we only went on one date._ The last section was what he was looking for.

_Notes: Can be used to bribe Kyoya Ootori if needed, can herself be bribed with threats to Ranka Fujioka._

He felt like he had been hit with a ton of bricks, even though he had suspected as much. So this was why his father was particularly interested in her. It was not just her views and intelligence that captured Yoshio Ootori's attention. Kyoya would have to be careful if he was going to break away from the Ootori Group without causing trouble for Haruhi. His blood ran cold when he saw a file with his own name on it. Apparently, his father also kept files on members of the family.

_Kyoya Ootori_

_Age: 18_

_Birthday: November 22nd_

_Gender: Male_

_Height: 5'11" (181cm)_

_Blood Type: AB_

_Ethnicity: Asian_

_Nationality: Japanese_

_Relatives:_

_Yoshio Ootori (father)_

_Rikona Ootori (mother, no longer has custody)_

_Yuichi Ootori (older brother)_

_Akito Ootori (older brother)_

_Fuyumi Ootori-Shidou (older sister)_

_Haruhi Fujioka (friend, girlfriend)_

_Tamaki Suoh (friend)_

_School: Ouran Academy_

_Occupation: High school senior, member of Host Club_

_Strengths: Extremely intelligent, ambitious, skilled at networking and managing finances, excellent at damage control, has incredible business acumen (helps the Ootori Group behind the scenes when necessary and manages the Host Club)_

_Weaknesses: Can suddenly become emotional if either Tamaki Suoh or Haruhi Fujioka is involved_

_Notes: Best option for Ootori heir_

Kyoya inhaled sharply. His father wanted him to be the heir? _For how long?_ _How ironic is it that when I decided I want to leave the Ootori Group, I am chosen as the heir?_ _And why do my brothers get to go the high-profile business meetings, then?_ He had a feeling that the announcement would probably be made in a few days. Even without Kyoya doing anything at all, the chains on his life were beginning to tighten around him when all he wanted was to break free.

Still, he planned to stand his ground. He would talk to Hayato Hitachiin on Wednesday and, hopefully, become the new CEO of his software development company. No way was he about to give up his new-found dreams to run the Ootori Group.

Now he just had to explain that to Haruhi and his father without causing a scandal, which was quite a tall order considering the fact that it seemed that his father would be willing to bribe and threaten him. _Complicated_ had been right.


	9. A Memory and a Blond

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warning! ⚠️ If you don’t feel comfortable reading about suicide and self harm, please do not read this!

Kyoya went back to his room, went upstairs to his bedroom loft, and hacked into the security cameras again to return them to normal. Then, he finally began his normal morning routine. He took a long, hot shower and changed into a white t-shirt, dark jeans, and a charcoal grey jacket.

He lay down on the bed and opened up the email Harvard had sent him earlier that morning which detailed the same exact thing as the letter. He lay deep in thought as he stared at it for the better part of the next thirty minutes. Reading the same message over and over again, he slowly grew tired and his eyes began to close. He drifted off to sleep.

_"Kyoya, you understand that I am obligated to tell your father about this, right? However, for your sake, I will bend the rules." Yuzuru Suoh's voice was high and clear, but not entirely devoid of worry._

_"Thank you," Kyoya croaked, bowing his head in submission. His mouth was too, too dry and he was too, too tired. He was not even sure why he had done it, anyway. It was not like he was going to do the act in school of all places. He was not about to get sent away like his mother for such tendencies, either._

_Yuzuru took out his phone. "Your sister is at home, correct?"_

_Kyoya simply nodded, as speaking seemed beyond him at the moment._

_Yuzuru made a call and Fuyumi ran into the office a few minutes later. God knew how she had gotten from the mansion to Ouran so fast. Kyoya was ushered out of the office. Feeling a certain sense of dread, he stayed near the door and listened to the conversation._

_Yuichi set down what sounded like a piece of paper on the desk. "Fuyumi, your brother Kyoya brought a handgun to school."_

_She gasped in shock. "I don't understand..." Her shattered voice sent shivers down Kyoya's spine and daggers down his already painful throat. "It doesn't make sense, why would he..."_

_"I think you do understand, Fuyumi. Please help him. Save him. He's only in his first year of middle school."_

_She began to sob. "I tried so many times, but he won't listen! He's too stubborn."_

_There was the almost imperceptible click of a pen and scratching on paper. "I tried telling Yoshio to treat his sons more like his children instead of businessmen, but he won't listen, either. He doesn't understand how much he is affecting you, Kyoya, and the rest of the family. I've decided to not tell him about Kyoya's state, as he will only make the situation worse if he hears about this." Yuzuru paused and sighed. "Fuyumi, you have to continue trying. Otherwise who knows what will happen to Kyoya."_

_Fuyumi, still crying, replied, "You're right, I can't let anything happen to him."_

He woke up and inhaled sharply. _That memory..._ It had been years and the day had mostly gone by in a haze, but he still remembered the conversation he had with Fuyumi when he went home. He still remembered how desperate she had sounded and how coldly he had rejected her advice. While he never did end up making an attempt (he could only get so far as planning such things), the world remained monotone and dreary. _So different from the person I became after befriending Tamaki. I became extremely ambitious and passionate, full of desire to surpass my brothers. Then, Haruhi made me realize that I wanted to leave the Ootori Group and explore the other options out there for me._

Suddenly, his musings were interrupted by one overly-enthusiastic blond. _Speak of the devil._

"MMMmommmmyyYYY!" _What the hell?_ "I just had to come visit you on a sudden day off! You need to get off your bed and enjoy this special occasion!" Tamaki practically pranced into his room. His violet gaze fell upon the meal set on the nightstand next to the bed. "Ooooh! Breakfast! You should really eat something, too," the hafu said as he stuffed his face with spicy natto (a food item he knew Kyoya detested, despite the fact that it was very spicy), leaving the rest of the breakfast for Kyoya.

Kyoya put a hand on his forehead and rubbed his temples. "I'm fine, Tamaki. What do you want? I'm kind of busy right now. I got an acceptance letter from Harvard today."

Tamaki knew when to be serious, at least, and decided to not act like a dramatic four-year-old for once. "Really? You applied to Harvard?" The blond's brow furrowed, and he sat down next to Kyoya on the bed.

"Yes, the deadline for the application was in January. I planned, and still plan, on studying business there."

"So you actually are following your own dreams instead of your father's?" _Right, Tamaki was not there when I told the others that I wanted to study business in America._

"Yes, I've wanted this for a long time. But now that I know for sure that I'm going..."

Tamaki's face softened, and he looked at Kyoya with large, violet eyes. "You are nervous as to what your father would do when you tell him this, as well as what will happen to your relationship with Haruhi?"

 _Curse the idiotic Tamaki and his façade-tearing abilities. I was going to say that I am more certain about what I have to do, but he read right through me._ "What? I'm not nervous," he lied through slightly-gritted teeth. "Like I said, I had this planned."

"I know you did. You are not an impulsive person in the slightest. You probably have been thinking of attending Harvard for at least a year now."

"Exactly. So why on Earth would I be nervous, then?"

"Because you know very well what this would mean for your relationship with your father. You aren't sure exactly how he will try to ruin your life after you walk away from the Ootori Group. As for Haruhi, that's much simpler: you never planned for a relationship between the two of you. You and Haruhi both aren't ones for romance, so even though you loved her for a long time, the confessions probably occurred quite unexpectedly." _He's reading me like he would a textbook!_

"You are right. There's no saying what my father is capable of or how hurt Haruhi would be if I leave when we just got together."

"Kyoya, she'll understand. She's that type of person, as I'm sure you know. You can just do a long distance relationship. You do love her, right?"

Kyoya balled his hands into fists. "More than anything."

Tamaki's violet eyes burned with sudden emotion. "Then you'd do anything you can to remain with her. I followed her to Boston to stay with her, so I think _y_ _ou_ can manage a long distance relationship."

 _He can get rude when he's emotional — such as the time he told Haruhi that she was weak because she is a girl, when he really meant that it was okay for her to ask for help and that even though she was undeniably headstrong, being a woman automatically put her in danger of attacks from actual rapists — but what he just said right now does make some sense, at least._ Kyoya had the sudden urge to embrace the blond. "Idiot as you are, you are right again. We won't really be apart as long as we keep in contact."

"There we go!" the blond exclaimed in a sudden change in tone, his eyes tearing up dramatically with joy. _Never mind...I'm not hugging that idiot._ "Mommy's finally going to follow his own path! We are all going to miss YOUUUUU!"

Kyoya smiled but then hit him with a pillow.

"That overly emotional display was _not_ necessary. So what did you come here for in the first place?" Kyoya wanted to get his mind off of things for a while (only temporarily, of course...He would, no doubt, stay up late again that night).

Tamaki's eyes sparkled, and Kyoya regretted asking. "Well, I came to play music with you. We'll perform a great duet, with me playing piano and you playing violin! Fuyumi told me that you are an incredible violin player, but you still haven't played for me! I want to see how good you are."

 _Why can't we just watch a movie? I don't even play the violin. Is_ _he actually that stupid? Also curse the friendship between him and Fuyumi, along with all the other things I cursed this morning._ "No. I don't play the violin."

Tamaki gave a scandalized gasp. "But Fuyumi said—" He looked on the verge of an emotional breakdown.

 _That idiot..._ "I don't play the violin." All of a sudden it occurred to him where the whole violin business came from, though he could not believe that anyone could be that idiotic. "I usually listen to music while I work, and sometimes I just randomly sing along if I'm in the mood, which is rather rare if you could imagine. Fuyumi heard me one day and said that I was talented. I don't trust that particular judgement, but she keeps insisting that I am 'amazing.'" He said the last word as if it was some sort of curse and paused to make sure that what he was saying was sinking into the blond's thick skull. "She must have told you about my _singing_ , but of course you misheard and thought she said that I play the violin well." Kyoya glared at Tamaki to make his irritation abundantly clear.

 _Tamaki_ made it abundantly clear that he could not take a hint. Sparkles danced in the blond's violet eyes. "Will you sing for me? I'll play the piano and you'll sing!" He seemed more excited than before, and Kyoya knew why.

Kyoya sighed and wondered if it was possible to kill Tamaki right now without raising suspicion. Probably not, as the other hosts would immediately suspect Kyoya. "No," he replied with another withering glare.

"Please?" Tamaki brought out his most dangerous weapon: puppy eyes. _Damn it! I won't fall for it this time._ This sentiment only lasted a few seconds.

"Fine," Kyoya said, adjusting his glasses and pinching his nose. Tamaki barked like a little puppy who just received a tasty treat from its owner. "Shut up, you moron." The blond whined. _Sigh._ "If you are going to play the piano, we have to go to the living room."

"But your living room does not have a piano." _Honestly, what do I do with him?_

"Not the living room in my room, nitwit. The actual, formal living room right next to the foyer. The one where you play piano _almost every time you visit_."

Tamaki gasped. "Mommy, how rude! Speaking of the living room, I even brought Haruhi with me, and you are acting like this." The blond immediately put a hand over his mouth.

 _So that is why he wanted me to join him in his music extravaganza in the first place. I am definitely going to kill him._ "You brought Haruhi along?" He said this in a pleasant tone, but a beastly aura began to surround him, betraying his irritation.

Haruhi walked in on Kyoya about to throttle Tamaki. "I was getting bored waiting in the living room so I just asked one of the servants where you guys..." She froze when Tamaki wailed and suddenly wrapped himself around her.

"Please protect Daddy from angry Mommy! The demon lord has awoken to cut my life short!" She deadpanned before finally addressing Kyoya.

"Kyoya..." He smiled innocently, as if daring her to chastise him. She sweatdropped and immediately attempted to change the subject. "So, Tamaki said something about doing a violin and piano duet with you. You play the violin?"

"No, so he's making me sing instead." He shot Tamaki a look.

"Okay, let's go back to the living room and hear you sing," she replied as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Fine, but I personally do not think my singing would warrant such interest. I am much better when it comes to business matters." He glared at Tamaki once again. _I'm definitely going to get my revenge. Just you wait, Fuyumi and Tamaki._

They went downstairs into the living room area of his room. "Kyoya, I wanted to ask...Why does your room have its own living room _and_ a Western style bedroom loft? Your room alone is bigger than my whole apartment!" Haruhi asked pointedly. Tamaki was still hanging on to her for dear life.

"I'm rich," Kyoya replied with a slight chuckle.

They made their way to the Ootori's living room, and Tamaki at last detached from Haruhi and made himself at home on the piano bench. "Time to play!"

Notes began to lift off of the grand piano. Kyoya inhaled deeply and closed his eyes. _Just sing and forget everything else, like Fuyumi always told you to do. Life is hard and everybody needs a break, so let yourself go just for a small moment as you sing, even though Father would hate it,_ Kyoya told himself.

A familiar, bittersweet melody filled the living room. _As I expected._ Kyoya, his eyes still closed, listened to the music. It was a piece Tamaki had created when they were in middle school. The blond had persuaded Kyoya — using puppy eyes — to add lyrics to the piece (Kyoya had always been the one who was better with his words, and indeed the lyrics he had written brought the hafu to tears), but they did not have someone to sing them. _Until now. That was why he was so excited when I told him that Fuyumi thinks I am a good singer._ He felt Tamaki smile expectantly at him.

Kyoya took another deep breath and began to sing the lyrics so deeply etched in his mind.

_"Tsumetai yoru no tsukiakari ni terasarete_  
_Utsushi dasareru machi no kage ni kakureta_  
  
_Shinjirareru mono nante_  
_Mou nani hitotsu nai to_  
_Yukikau hito gomi no naka_  
_MONOKURO no sekai ni_  
_Unazuite ita keredo_  
  
_Kizu itan da_  
_Kimi no kotoba de_  
_Ashimoto ni yori sou_  
_Hana hitotsu_  
  
_Ushitatte mo_  
_Kowaku nante nai to_  
_Iikikasu yo ni_  
_Aruki dashita..._  
  
_Shizukesa dake ga_  
_Boku no mune o umetsukushi_  
_Nozomu koto na do_  
_Shirazu ikite kita no ni_  
  
_Utagau koto no imi sae mo_  
_Mou wakaranakute_  
_Yukan deku machi no naka ni_  
_Tadashisa o kanji_  
_Nagasarete ita keredo_  
  
_Kizu itan da_  
_Kimi no kotoba de_  
_Ashimoto ni yori sou_  
_Hana hitotsu_  
  
_Ushitatte mo_  
_Kowaku nante nai to_  
_Iikikasete mo_  
_Toki wa susumu_  
  
_Kizu itan da_  
_Kimi no kotoba de_  
_Ashimoto ni yori sou_  
_hana hitotsu_  
  
_Ushitatte mo_  
_Kowaku nante nai to_  
_Iikikasete mo_  
_Toki wa susumu..."_

* * *

Translation:

_"I hid in the shadows the moonlight_  
_Of a chilly night illuminated, reflecting on the town_

_What is there for me to believe in?_  
_There's not a thing_  
_In the midst of a crowd going and coming._  
_In a monochrome world,_  
_I had hung my head, but-_  
  
_I realized through your words_  
_And the single flower at my feet..._

_If I lost it,_  
_There would be nothing to fear._  
_I could convince myself to walk on._  
  
_Nothing but silence_  
_Fills my heart and_  
_I've lived my life_  
_Without knowing what I desire._  
  
_I don't know_  
_What it means to be doubtful anymore._  
_In a distorted town, I feel justice,_  
_Though I'm being swept along._  
  
_I realized through your words_  
_And the single flower at my feet..._

_If I lost it,_  
_There would be nothing to fear._  
_I could convince myself that time would go on._  
  
  
_I realized through your words_  
_And the single flower at my feet..._

  
_If I lost it,_  
_There would be nothing to fear._  
_I could convince myself that time would go on."_

* * *

The silence that followed after Tamaki played the last note was profound. The blond seemed to be frozen in place, while both Kyoya and Haruhi uncharacteristically began to tear up. The two wiped their eyes, though Haruhi did not seem to mind showing that she had been moved and thus was not as quick to dry her tears.

"That was beautiful. Your voice is incredible. To imagine that you would be so good at singing," Haruhi said with a whisper, as if hesitant to destroy the atmosphere. Kyoya did not reply, as he was sure that not a single sound would come out if he tried to talk at the moment. The music, the lyrics, had hit too close to home even though it had been years since he and Tamaki created the song. _Maybe I should learn violin. It would elevate the piece._

Tamami stirred as if he had been abruptly brought out of a dream. "Kyoya, why did you not say a thing when I was looking for a person to sing this? Your singing is..."

Kyoya swallowed and then, finally, attempted to speak. "Because I don't like to sing in front of others. It's too... _personal_. If only you had tried to listen to me when we were in my room, you would have understood that."

Tamaki, in a sudden change in mood, cried anime tears. "Waaaah! Sorry, Mommy!" He ran and grabbed Haruhi by the shoulder. "Haruhi! Please help your daddy find a way to apologize to Mommy! I know, we can get him a brand new laptop! Wouldn't Mommy like that?"

Kyoya, who was now back to normal, was about to make a snarky retort when she beat him to it.

"Get off me," she deadpanned.

Tamaki went off to grow mushrooms in a corner. Kyoya sighed for what seemed like the millionth time that morning. _But at least I'm not the one who will have to get rid of the pesky fungi. I hope the blonde likes to clean._ The evil thought cheered him up considerably.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The song Kyoya sings is called "Tsumetai Yoru" and is actually Kyoya's theme song. It's sung by Kyoya's Japanese voice actor and is absolutely gorgeous and heartbreaking. If you have not listened to the song on YouTube yet, you definitely should.


	10. And so Kyoya Breaks the News

After another hour of Tamaki's drama ("Kyoya" and "singing" often came up in his incoherent rambling), Kyoya was finally alone in his room with Haruhi. Which was good because the left side of his head had begun to ache soon after he had finished singing from lack of sleep, Tamaki's screaming, and stress. The pain had only grown worse sense then. _Dammit. It has been an entire hour since my head started to hurt...I have to talk to Haruhi about attending Harvard and figure out exactly what I want to do about my father. I cannot have him mess things up for me. The last thing I need is a migraine._

But, for now at least, he was forced to admit that he was not going to be able to do anything and decided to leave his laptop untouched. He rubbed his temples, glad for the peace that had returned after Tamaki's departure. _Stupid Tamaki and his stupid desire to make me sing. Stupid headache that I really need to go away._

Haruhi, thankfully, was busy observing the bedroom loft and did not notice that there was something wrong. "Kyoya, I love the painting on the wall. It's so different from the rest of your house." He looked up to see that she was staring at the painting of a multicolored rose that covered the entire front wall of the loft, extending from a smaller but still beautiful painting of a vase of purple flowers inside of a gilded frame.

"Thanks," he huffed, more out of pain than irritation, as he leaned against the headboard of the bed and took off his glasses. His headache, unfortunately, quickly grew more painful with every effort he spent. It seemed that it was not going to go away anytime soon after all. _Stupid migraine, I do not need you to make an appearance. Fuck, I ran out of migraine pills and aspirin, too._

But fate had never been on his side before. The throbbing pain seemed to increase almost exponentially over the next few seconds, and he went back to rubbing his temples. "What do you mean, thanks?" she asked. When there was no answer, she looked at him curiously. While he attempted to make it seem that he did not feel as if the light in the room was stabbing his eyes and that he could form coherent thoughts, the pain was becoming too much. Haruhi furrowed her brow, clearly not convinced by his act.

"Kyoya, are you okay?" Her voice, though soft and gentle, made his head pound even more painfully. That really did it for him. The room temperature seemed to soar all of a sudden, and he practically ripped his jacket off, the motion jarring his headache.

"Could you please turn off the light? And be silent," was all he was able to say through his gritted teeth. His mouth seemed to fill with bitter saliva when he spoke, and every word seemed to only increase the throbbing pain. He ended the statement with a half-groan as the world seemed to slowly spin. He was definitely going to throw up if he did not feel some sort of relief soon. His eyes closed shut (though painful light still filtered through his eyelids) and his body, barely conscious of anything by that point, slowly began to sink down onto the bed.

She quietly turned off the light (thank god his curtains had not been drawn that morning, as then they would have had to be shut, too) and made her way out of the room, her silhouette barely visible in the darkness that now shrouded the room. She was gone for quite a while; if Kyoya could think, he would have believed that she had left. As it was, he did not notice much of what was happening.

Haruhi came back with a cool, wet face cloth that she had grabbed it from his bathroom and now gently placed on his forehead. "You are burning, Kyoya! Don't worry. It'll be okay," she whispered soothingly, her voice barely audible in an attempt to not disturb him. "Just go to sleep." The cold felt heavenly, though it did not provide anything close to the relief he wanted. Looking back, perhaps a cold compress (the Ootori mansion was stocked with medical supplies, after all) would have been a bit better, but at the moment his mind was not working well enough to tell her to get one. She raked her fingers through his hair in a comforting way, taking care not to jar his head and make things worse.

In no state to argue with anything Haruhi said and desperate to get away from the pounding in his head, he did as she asked.

A few hours later, he woke up to find that Haruhi was still sitting next to him. He felt impossibly drowsy, but the sight of her made him a bit less tired. Unfortunately, while he at least felt better, his t-shirt was completely drenched in sweat and clung to his body rather uncomfortably. _Eurgh._ He was going to have to take another shower once she left to get rid of the stickiness from his sweat.

She smiled somewhat sadly when she saw that he was awake. "You feeling better? That seemed like a pretty bad migraine."

"I am feeling normal again, though I'm really tired. As for migraines, I actually get one or two every few months. It's normally not this bad though, and I usually get a longer warning than an hour." He vainly attempted to stifle a yawn, as if trying to highlight how it was not that important. _Why was it so bad this time? Oh well. All I can do is_ _remember to get more of my migraine pills and aspirin. They may not offer me complete relief, but they can really help._

She shook her head. "Kyoya, why did you never tell anybody about this? And you knew this was coming an hour beforehand? Why did you not send Tamaki home earlier, then?"

"Because, it hardly matters. Not even Tamaki knows about my headaches. What time is it?" He did not want to think about how much time he had wasted because of the migraine, especially as he was still exhausted

"Kyoya, the fact that you have migraines because of your lack of sleep and all the stress is actually quite important, I think." Her voice was shrill, and she sounded almost hysterical, which surprised him. Haruhi usually never got overly emotional. _Does she care that much about me?_

"Sorry," he replied quickly. But his apology only served to irritate her.

"What else are you hiding, hmm? What else should I worry about, besides the fact that you clearly have no self regard for your health?" Her eyes seemed to burn him, stunning him into silence.

"Two things. One: I have hypotension, but that rarely caused problems for me. It's only when I'm woken up early in the morning that it matters. Two: I was accepted to Harvard," he finally told her somewhat blankly and icily.

He decided not to add that he was planning on taking over Hayato Hitachiin's company, as it had not been decided yet.

"You got into Harvard? That's incredible!" Haruhi replied, shock registering in her face. The news seemed to have abated her anger. "What are you going to major in, then?"

"I plan on concentrating in economics and taking some applied science courses on the side. I will then apply to the business program to get my MBA."

She looked pleased. "That's great! Finally exploring the options out there for you? I'm glad you are no longer going to play the role of the third son." _So she understands what my interest in Harvard means_. "When we were in Spain a few months ago, you told me that you hated those who abandoned their roles. I was worried that you would remain trapped in the Ootori family and not realize that you could do anything you wanted." _Actually, I became more resolute about surpassing my father and forging my own path when I was in Spain. But why is she so happy when I'm going to be going off to Harvard pretty soon?_

He looked at her, unable to hide his un-Shadow-King-like confusion. "Yes, but aren't you upset that I will be leaving?"

"You said that you are going to study in an university in America even before I decided to go to Boston in the beginning of this school year, though I never thought you would break from Ootori Group, expecially after our trip to Spain. And then told me again a few days back. Actually, I would be upset if you changed your mind just because you are with me now."

"Is that so?" If the light had been on, he imagined that his glasses would be glinting. "I'm quite touched."

Haruhi blushed a little. "You already have so much going on. I think you need someone to be understanding, as you have such a complex nature."

Kyoya smiled. "That's why I chose you over all the others, you know. You don't care about appearances—" He gestured towards her plain t-shirt and boyish cargo shorts, which actually looked rather nice on her. It was more _her_ than dresses or the Ouran school uniform, which he loved. "—or façades. You are _you_ , and you want others to be able to be themselves, too. You are unfailingly perceptive and _understanding_. Unless it deals with romance, of course."

"I think you think too highly of me."

"Trust me, others would throw a fit if they found out their boyfriend was going to America to study at Harvard."

Haruhi chuckled. "I never understood that. I wouldn't give up my dream for a reason like this, and so shouldn't anybody else. I mean, you did promise to call me everyday, so it's not like I won't hear from you again."

"That is true." _I definitely need to check up with her everyday that I am gone, as my father might do something to get me to come back to the Ootori Group._

"I think it's funny that you are going to Harvard. I was actually looking into the law program there but I gave it up because there was such a low chance of me getting the scholarship."

Kyoya gave her a calculating look. "If you were to attend Harvard, I would see you again after a year. What if I give you the money?"

Haruhi froze. "You want to give me the money I need?"

Kyoya shrugged his shoulders. "I don't see why not. Harvard's law program is exceptional, so it would be a worthwhile investment. It would help you follow your dream of becoming a lawyer like your mother."

Haruhi was stunned. "I don't need you to do that for me!" _Blunt as always._

Kyoya leaned forward and pressed his lips against hers. "I would love for you to study in America with me once you graduate, so please let me pay for this. After all, I'm the one who decided to go to Harvard and inconvenience our relationship."

Her doe eyes brimmed with tears. "You...This means a lot." He gently wiped them away with the face cloth, which had dried during the time he had been asleep.

"Don't thank me when I have so much money." Haruhi deadpanned at his response.

"Rich bastard," she said before giving him a hug. "I have to go back home, but I wish you the best of luck with your father. And get some rest, because you look exhausted after your migraine."

He did not even bother asking how she knew any of that. "Thank you. You can ask Hotta for a ride home. It's pretty far from here to your house." _Tamaki, being the idiot as he is, forgot that she needed a ride back and just left. Or perhaps that was intentional..._

"Really? Okay then." As he saw her figure recede and as he turned on his laptop, he wondered (for what must have been the thousandth time that week) how he had ever found someone like her.

 _Now, time to_ _work on the cosplay for Friday, rework the Host Club budget, analyze the deal the Ootori Group made with a new first-aid-kit_ _manufacturer that my father wanted me to talk to him about tomorrow_ _, and tell Hayato Hitachiin that I want to meet with him on Wednesday._

Suddenly, his phone pinged, announcing that he just received a text message.

**_Haruhi: Don't you dare start working. I know you well enough to know that you are ignoring what I told you before I left. Again, please sleep._ **

As agonizing as it was to admit that he was too tired to get work done, he knew she was right. He was tired.

**_Kyoya: Fine, I'll just work on what I have to do once I wake up. After all, I slept so much already during the day and now I'm going to sleep some more._ **

**_Haruhi: Right, but remember that we have school tomorrow. Don't stay up too late, even though you slept a lot._ **

**_Kyoya: All right, all right. But I need to make sure I get what I need to do done._ **

**_Haruhi: Don't. Stay. Up. Late. And. Sleep._ **

**_Haruhi: And again, thank you for saying that you'll give me the money if I decide to study law at Harvard._ **

**_Kyoya: I love you._ **

**_Haruhi: I love you, too._ **

He set his phone back on the nightstand and went to take a shower before finally lying down on bed.

It had been an eventful Monday, but he was sure his meeting with his father the next day would be even more so. However, that was for later, and he was sleepy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Migraines are something that I know all too well, and I saw that the headcanon that Kyoya has them is fairly popular (for good reason...it makes sense for someone like him to have them every once in a while), so I decided to write this chapter the way I did.
> 
> I just wanted to set up the fact that he can sing and has migraines, as those facts will come back later.


	11. Broken Glasses

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warning! ⚠️ If you don’t feel comfortable reading about abuse, please do not read this!

As it turned out, the following day was eventful even disregarding the events of that evening.

_Kyoya rolled to the side, lying on his cold, wooden floor. He just didn't have the energy to get up. It felt like he was swirling and suffocating, and the piercing coldness was the only thing keeping him holding onto reality. He cradled his head in his hands, feeling the rivers of pent up emotion streaming through his fingertips. For a moment, he wished he could rewrite everything._

_He then aimlessly put a hand on the ground, running his perfectly manicured nails up the joint between two wooden panels. Everything seemed to be too much for him, but Ootoris were not supposed to show emotion. Emotions were weaknesses, but now Kyoya felt nothing but numbness and his armor was starting to wear thin. He knew if he tried hard enough he could succeed, but how much of him would be left in the end? It was as if he would lose more and more of himself the more he moved on, the more he tried, the harder it got. In the end, he didn't know what he wanted any more. Did he want to succeed over his brothers? He wasn't sure any more, but as an Ootori, he should have been. He felt ashamed of his confusion, even though it was perfectly normal to change one's mind._

_Thanks to one Tamaki Suoh, his life was in disarray._ _The blond had brought emotion and color back into his life, but who said that it was going to be easy to be reintroduced to feelings? Who said it was easy to realize just how numb he felt at times, how broken he was to feel the way he had before? I_ _t was a crazy ride, more of a roller coaster than anything else. And then came Haruhi._

_The scene morphed from the memory to become something completely different. "Your brothers both maintained top grades and an impeccable social life as well." His father's voice suddenly rang out. "You must surpass your brothers' accomplishments considerably if you want to impress me, Kyoya. Don't be a disgrace like you have been so far."_

" _I will not be your pawn and a part of the Ootori Group any longer," Kyoya replied. "I am going to Harvard and plan on forging my own path."_

_His father suddenly grew angry, but skillfully did not let it show on his face. His words, on the other hand, were calculated to be caustic. "You ungrateful brat. You are the third son. What else is out there for you? You are lucky I even gave you the opportunity to become the heir, because nobody else would even consider you." Kyoya knew from experience what was coming and braced himself. Yoshio rarely hit Kyoya and his siblings, but it did happen if tensions were high and if the transgression was bad enough. In two strides, his father stood before him, one hand raised in the air. Kyoya winced even before the hand met his cheek in a painful slap. He fell to the ground, his glasses flying a good three or four feet away. His father kicked him, causing him to stumble as he tried to get up. "Get up, you worthless pig. How could you possibly think that you would find any opportunities out there?" Then..._

He jolted awake, his breath hitched and pained. His chest heaved, desperate for air. He drew his knees to his chest and put his head between them. _Breathe. Count. You did it before, and you can do it again._ He slowly inhaled and exhaled. _Breathe in. One_. _Two. Three. Four. Hold. One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Six. Seven. Breathe out. One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Six. Seven. Eight._ He thought he heard a loud crash sometime during all of this, but he was not sure.

When his breathing finally returned to normal after he had mentally recited the count for a third time, his panic faded into his usual morning irritation. _Great, now I'm even more tired than I usually am in the morning._ He noticed Tachibana, who had entered his bedroom to serve him breakfast, looking at him with concern. Ignoring the man, Kyoya looked at the (brand new) alarm clock. To his great displeasure, he had woken up earlier than he was supposed to. _Also great._

Kyoya's attention shifted from the clock back to Tachibana. "What is going on?" he asked angrily. His voice was gravelly: it was the voice of a person who had just woken up and was upset from the moment he had opened his eyes. His mussed up hair hung in front of his eyes, casting them into shadow. A dark aura completed the demonic image. Tachibana seemed rooted in place with fear and shock.

"Ah, Master Kyoya, I..." The man fell silent again, looking unsure as to how to continue.

"What. Is. Going. On?"

"Sorry, Master. I came to give you breakfast when I heard your breathing grow erratic. I wanted to help you calm down, but I tripped and hit the nightstand. Thankfully, the food is okay." Kyoya mulled this over as he took a piece of toast from the tray Tachibana handed him. _That would explain the crash I thought I heard._

"That is terribly clumsy of you. Since you are here, give me my glasses." Tachibana looked even more nervous than before.

"You see, when I hit the nightstand, I knocked your glasses to the ground. In an attempt to find them and pick them back up, I..."

"You what?" Kyoya did not like where this was heading at all, his voice sounding even more angry than usual at that time of morning.

"I stepped on them, sir." Tachibana handed him what were once Kyoya's glasses.

Both of the lenses were broken, one of the temples of the frame was snapped in half, and the other was hanging precariously on the hinge. _Absolutely perfect. This is what I needed today, especially when I have to speak to my father this evening._

"I will wear my contacts to school and order a new pair of glasses. They should arrive in the afternoon. Meanwhile, you will leave me alone." His voice was dangerously low and icy, and Tachibana gave a polite bow in fear.

"Yes, this will not happen again, Master Kyoya," he said before getting out of his bedroom loft.

Kyoya felt drained, but he dutifully finished his breakfast and changed into his uniform. He internally groaned as he looked at his reflection in the mirror after he had put on contacts. His sharply-defined and dramatic onyx eyes, no longer shielded from his glinting glasses, were striking against his pale, almost porcelain-like skin. His raven hair and long lashes only served to bring them out even more. He looked...pretty. Too pretty. Like a fragile, delicate china doll that had been stored in an attic for years. His eyes so clearly showed how broken he was, no matter how confident he had become in what he wanted over the past year or so. He absolutely hated his appearance.

But there was something he would hate even more than showing people other than Tamaki and Haruhi who he really was: missing school. The whole glasses drama had thrown off his schedule, and he was running a good ten minutes late even though he had technically woken up earlier than usual. Of course, he would make it to school in time, but being behind schedule was still an inconvenience, a fork in a finely-tuned machine. With a sigh, he headed outside.

If Hotta recognized any difference in the teen's appearance, he wisely did not bring it up. Instead, he awkwardly avoided looking at Kyoya for too long. "The Fujiokas, please. There is still some time to pick her up," Kyoya told him. Hotta nodded and quickly faced forward again, as if seeing his master's face without glasses was scandalous. _Which_ , Kyoya thought as the frustration and anger from his rude awakening and the loss of his glasses slowly began to abate, _was not exactly wrong_.

His thoughts and feelings, no longer pointed and sharp, meandered to Haruhi and the Host Club. He wondered what they would think of him not wearing any glasses. Especially Haruhi. Fortunately, he did not have to wait long to find out how she would react as the Mercedes pulled up to the apartment complex at that moment.

"Hello," she greeted as he opened the door, but then stood there, her mouth open wide. She shook her head several times, as if not believing what she was seeing. "Kyoya! Oh my god. Where are your glasses?"

"Broken," he responded concisely. "I just came to ask if you would like a ride to Ouran."

She gave him a smile. "Sure, let me get my things and we can go. I was just about to get out when you came."

"So, no glasses for today, huh?" she said when she came back out again wearing a coat and her school bag. He chuckled as they got into the car.

"Seems like it, unfortunately."

She elbowed him. "Come on, it's not that bad. Think of the good that can come out of not hiding behind your glasses for a day."

Kyoya thought about this. "Perhaps you are right. If I play my cards correctly, I can use this opportunity to gain more clients." Haruhi deadpanned.

"Not what I was thinking of, but that works. Without your glasses, your looks will certainly gain the attention of even more fangirls than usual." She paused, as if thinking of something. "You know, you don't have that many clients in the first place. Isn't that weird considering the number of fangirls you have?"

Kyoya took out his black notebook. "I use my position as the vice president of the club to limit the number of clients I have. I need to observe and take notes, and I can't do that if I have too many clients. Also, speaking with them too long drains me considerably."

"Ah," she replied thoughtfully. "It seems like your happiness has faded somewhat. You look really tired."

"I am." Kyoya was not about to tell her why, but decided that it would not hurt to tell her that he felt exhausted. _This is why I like wearing glasses. It makes it so much easier to hide._

"Oh. That's too bad. You know, I really liked the sweet Kyoya I went on a date with on Sunday. Though I don't mind you being your Shadow King self, as it is also part of who you truly are...I really enjoyed seeing you smile and relax."

"I was acting differently, then, wasn't I?"

"Yeah," she replied with a laugh. "It's like you have a split personality on the inside. One is your sweet and caring side, the other is your evil Demon Lord side. Your external façade, of course, hides both of these in a layer of detachment and charm."

"That's an intriguing notion, in its own way."

Haruhi's laugh grew louder. "It is, indeed. Good luck handling all the attention you'll be getting."

He definitely needed it. As soon as he stepped into his first class, his classmates swarmed around him.

"Ootori-kun, where are your glasses?" the son of a Diet member asked, confused.

The son of a bank manager piped up. "Woah, Ootori-kun. You look great!"

"Kyoya-kun, what happened?"Ayame Jounouchi’s monotone voice rang out.

"Kyoya-kun looks so handsome without his glasses," a fangirl whispered while huddling close to her friends.

Suddenly, a blond appeared in the crowd. "Kyoya! What happened to your glasses, _mon ami_? Did you break them? Did you have a bad accident? Are you hurt?" Tamaki fussed over him. "Did you hit your head too badly?" The hafu gave him a giant hug. "Please tell me you're okay!" _Give me some air, idiot. I was already suffocating because of everyone around me and then you had to come and attack me like that? And why do you always go overboard with your assumptions?_

"I did not fall and get hurt. Let go, moron. I have class rep duties in the morning, you know," Kyoya whispered into Tamaki's ears to ensure that the others did not hear.

Tamaki promptly ran to the nearest corner to act emo, and the class went to fuss over _him_ and figure out what was wrong.

Kyoya barely went through his classes and lunch. Whispers flooded every classroom he went to, making it almost impossible for him to concentrate. Tamaki himself was a part of the conversation, his "hushed" voice so loud that Kyoya could only sit and wonder why the teachers never told the class to shut up. _Right, they can't say anything when the chairman's son is a part of the problem._ Fortunately (or unfortunately), nobody said anything to him directly after that morning. _Do I naturally look that angry and tired? That's not good. My emotions are out for the world to see now._

He breathed a sigh of relief when the last bell rang, signaling that school was over and that it was time for the Host Club to meet in the infamous music room. _I would never admit it, but being in the Host Club is quite nice. The extra attention I have been getting has been annoying me all day. When hosting, I can at least make a profit out of the nuisance. Also, it will help me temporarily_ _forget about what I have to do this evening._

"Kyo-chan, you look so different!" Honey exclaimed. _Ah, so he and Mori managed to get out of college to come host. Again._ "You look angry and scary now," he quickly added when Kyoya gave the lolita a glare that was unintentionally even more evil than normal, as his glasses no longer were there to filter his irritation.

"Yeah," Mori nodded.

Kyoya smirked. "I just thought I'd give my clients something new." Haruhi cocked an eyebrow.

His smirk grew. "Something wrong, Haruhi?" She sweatdropped and looked away.

"Kyoya-senpai, where are your glasses?" Hikaru asked, confused.

"I thought you needed them," Kaoru added.

"Well, I do to a certain extent. I'm not blind without them, my vision's just a bit impaired. I'm wearing contacts now."

When the Host Club opened, the number of new clients were unprecedented. Kyoya was amazingly popular that day, so much so that he actually had to stop writing for more than five minutes at a time. Some of the girls from his class had decided to drop in and check out the Host Club (to see him without glasses, to be exact), and they swooned when he asked them to become official clients. While it was a bit draining, like he had told Haruhi that morning, Kyoya decided to host for an extra thirty minutes to reap more money from an otherwise annoying event.

Of course, he still observed as much as he could, taking notes in his notebook. He found himself glancing at Haruhi every once in a while, silently watching her host. Honey shot him a knowing smile when he passed by to check on how many sweets were left. Honey's clients, not knowing that the look was aimed towards Kyoya, immediately squealed about how cute Honey was.

"Kyoya-senpai sure is popular today," Haruhi observed when the others were done hosting.

"Even more popular than Tama-chan normally is," added Honey, hugging Usa-chan (who was allowed to be out while hosting) and watching Kyoya entertain the last of his guests.

"Yeah," agreed Mori.

"He's like a dark Tamaki," Hikaru remarked.

"Yup. Tall, dark, and handsome," was Kaoru's input.

"Hey, Tono," the twins continued in unison, "looks like you better get Kyoya-senpai to get new glasses, or we might have a new king around here."

Tamaki let out a strangled gasp and ran to the corner. Haruhi sighed and mumbled something about having to go clean the dishes that they had used while hosting. Kyoya internally chuckled at this, and the girl fangirled over his sudden smile.

After recovering miraculously quickly, the blond said something that quickly removed the smile from Kyoya's face. "Have you noticed? All of his emotions now show on his face."

"Yeah, they do, huh?" replied Honey as he gave his stuffed bunny a squeeze. "Do you think there was a development, Takashi?"

"Yes," Mori answered tersely.

"What do you mean development?" cried Hikaru. Kyoya cringed, and the girl looked alarmed. He quickly mitigated the situation with a well-worded flirt and some Host Club propaganda. _I have to be more careful. Thank goodness that she hasn't heard what the others are talking about._

"It's not mine to say," replied the lolita as he took out a piece of cake from nowhere and started eating. Tamaki looked at Hikaru warily, and Kyoya did not blame him. When the client finally left, he stood up and joined the hosts.

"I heard everything, you guys know."

Hikaru, Kaoru, and Tamaki started, but Honey beamed. "So, _did_ something happen?" the small host asked.

Kyoya looked at Haruhi, who was currently busy cleaning a Ginori tea set. "Yes, you could say that." Honey's smile grew.

Hikaru was livid. "What does that even mean? Wait.." Kyoya again blanched at the twin's words. "You love Haruhi, don't you Kyoya-senpai? And don't lie, your emotions are obvious when you are not wearing glasses."

Hikaru was right. There was no point in lying. "Yes, and the feeling is mutual."

"So you guys are DATING? But what about me, Kaoru, and Tono? We love her, too, and you just took her from us." Haruhi, who had joined them, gasped in surprise.

"Hikaru." Kyoya's voice dropped slightly at the last syllable, becoming something that resembled a croon. The other hosts almost flinched at the sound of it. They had all heard that tone before and knew exactly what it meant: Kyoya only sounded like that right before he completely demolished the person he happened to be debating with. It was sort of like his warning shot, his way of letting his opponent know that he was about to absolutely flatten them. Very politely, of course. "Is she some sort of prize to hand to the highest bidder? Because that is what you are implying."

"No, that's not..." Hikaru looked ashamed, while the other hosts looked at Kyoya in shock, though not reproachfully.

"She had a choice, and she chose me. If you have a problem with that, you have both me and Haruhi to deal with." Haruhi took his hand and gave it a gentle squeeze.

"Kyoya's right about everything he said right now," Tamaki pointed out. "Haruhi chose him, and we need to respect that."

Hikaru paused for a moment before coming up with a rather childish retort. "But why _would_ she choose someone like you, Kyoya-senpai? You probably manipulated her into a situation where she had to date you." Kyoya swallowed painfully.

"How could you say that?" Kaoru suddenly said. "That's wrong and you know it."

"Hikaru, do you even realize what you said?" Tamaki asked, shaking his head and giving Kyoya a sympathetic look.

"That's mean, isn't it, Takashi?" Honey added.

"Yeah," Mori replied.

Haruhi's grip on his hand tightened, and fury registered on her face as she added her own thoughts. "Exactly. What is wrong with you, Hikaru? What you said is rich coming from someone who depends so much on the club which Kyoya so diligently manages. He handles all of your shenanigans and makes sure everyone is happy, even when _he_ isn't. He's lived his whole life suppressing his emotions and putting himself second, and when he finally does follow his heart, you act like this?" Kyoya was momentarily as stunned as Hikaru at Haruhi's outburst. If he was emotional, he probably would have cried at how quickly Haruhi and the other hosts had come to his defense. _Tamaki told me the same thing when I told him Haruhi and I were together. Before then, I_ _never thought of it that way, but I guess it actually is true._

"I-" Hikaru's cheek flushed with anger and embarrassment.

"And he did not use any manipulation at all. In fact, I confessed to him after he came to my house to comfort me during the thunderstorm a few days back."

"Oh...I'm sorry. I guess I was jealous."

"Just because you are jealous does not give you the right to act like that." _She's mad, all right._

"You're right," Hikaru admitted. Kaoru went up to his twin and patted his shoulder comfortingly.

Honey piped up to try to dissipate the emotions in the room. "Let's try to be happy for Kyo-chan and Haru-chan, okay? How about you eat some cake with me, Hika-chan? It'll make you feel better!" The lolita took yet another piece of cake from out of nowhere. "We can split this slice in half and share! Wait, but Usa-chan might want some..."

"I'm fine, senpai," Hikaru deadpanned before turning once again to Kyoya and Haruhi. "Just...Just promise me that you two will be happy together."

Haruhi grabbed Kyoya's tie and pulled him into a kiss. "I know I will," she answered Hikaru with a soft smile.

Kyoya, Tamaki, Honey, Kaoru, and even Mori smiled in return.


	12. Breaking from the Ootori Group

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warning! ⚠️ If you don’t feel comfortable reading about abuse, please do not read this!

Kyoya was beginning to feel distracted as the hosts began to depart. Haruhi had cleared away the last of the fine china and was currently studying, which surprised him somewhat. She always went home after hosting and, per Ranka's rule, relaxed before working. So why was she suddenly working in the music room?

Yes, he was distracted. As he worked on the Host Club finances for the day, small details caught his attention. He would be writing in his notebook and suddenly notice how his pen made dark lines on the otherwise clean sheet with a scratching sound that seemed to get louder and louder with each stroke. Or he would pause to figure a calculation in his head, but suddenly realize that the clock hanging on the wall behind him was ticking so loudly and clearly. Every second brought him closer to the inevitable meeting with his father that evening. _Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock._ How had he not noticed how loud the clock was before? Now it seemed impossible to ignore.

As he sat in his armchair, legs crossed and staring down at his work, Kyoya could feel reality beginning to close in on him. The tea sets and snacks were put away at the end of the Host Club each day, and Kyoya's peace of mind went with them as he was again forced to face the reality outside the club room walls. In the Host Club, he was hard working and happy. But out there, at home, he was the third son. Out of place. Worthless.

_You are an embarrassment! All you do is cause problems and bring shame to this family!_

Kyoya sighed, shaking his head to clear his thoughts. _Don't be bitter like you were in middle school. You are brilliant. You are capable. You will find success outside of the Ootori Group. You might become the CEO of Hayato Hitachiin's software company._

"Kyoya, you okay?" Haruhi asked, face lined with worry. "You look sad and anxious." _I wish I had my glasses._

He would normally brush a statement like this aside and say that he was fine, but it was Haruhi. It would be more convenient to tell her the truth as she always wheedled it out of him anyway. "I have a meeting with my father today. I plan on telling him that I was done with the Ootori Group then instead of later." He sighed before closing his eyes.

He could feel Haruhi's gaze bore through him. "Wow. So soon? I thought you would wait a while more." _What must be done must be done._ She paused, as if realizing something lying unsaid. "Thank you for saying what you did to Hikaru."

"I think I should be the one thanking you. You really defended me then." He said this nonchalantly enough, but he was secretly relieved that she decided to change the subject. It was intentional, he knew, and he appreciated it.

"It's all true, though, if you think about it. You are always left in the shadows. I can't keep count of how many times you and your feelings were forgotten. Still, you don't ever seem to care."

"The Host Club forgot about me when they infiltrated Lobelia, when they dragged me to the Izumi Shopping Center at an ungodly hour in the morning, and when the hosts were dancing with you during the Ouran Fair's closing ceremony. There are some other times, but those are the most noteworthy. So, yes, they do have a penchant for forgetting me." He then added, for humorous effect, "Of course, I really don't mind, but even Mori-senpai was always accounted for during our shenanigans."

Haruhi gave a little laugh. "Oh yeah, I did almost forget to dance with you, huh? But then you gave me back to Tamaki."

"And after the dance, you still did not know that you loved Tamaki. It was entertaining." Kyoya smirked. "Little did I know that you would fall for me as well."

"That's the Kyoya I know," Haruhi deadpanned. "Hey, wait a minute. You never did end up telling me about the painting in your room. Why did you thank me when I said it was lovely?"

He feigned indifference. "Oh, I painted that." In actuality, he was rather fond of the painting and what it represented to him.

Haruhi deflated. "You painted that? You are insanely smart, cunning, rich, decent at athletics, can sing, and now you are good at art? Why don't you tell people that you are good at singing and art?"

"I think you think too highly of me," he replied with a sly smile, echoing her statement from the previous day. "As for why I don't advertise all my talents, it's because my father would have found out and then I would have to perfect them." He sighed.

"You are right. All your skills hardly matter when you have a family like yours." He inhaled sharply at her statement. _Could you please be more blunt? I don't think you got the point across._

Quickly he finished recording the day's figures and closed his book, returning it to his school bag before standing. Noticing that Haruhi was also packing up, he asked her if she wanted a ride home. "I actually have to get going. Would you like a ride back to your apartment?"

"Oh, thank you. I finished the assignment that I wanted to quickly work on before heading home, so why not?" _No, she just wanted to talk to me and make sure everything was fine. She's too kind for her own good._

When his family Mercades finally pulled up to the Ootori mansion, he found Fuyumi waiting for him once again. She did not make any note of his lack of glasses, instead hurriedly coaxing him inside. "There you are! Father has been asking for you!"

His breath caught in his throat. He was not supposed to meet with his father until later in the evening. _Why?_ "Did Father tell you why he wanted to talk with me?"

Fuyumi shook her head. "Sorry, Kyoya. He did not say anything else. He just told me to come over and tell you that he had something to talk to you about."

"All right. I'll head to his office right now, then." Fuyumi looked sad, but then immediately turned cheerful.

"I know! Afterwards we can head to one of the commoner restaurants on the map Tamaki and I came up with." She pulled out the familiar, aforementioned map with a goofy smile on her face.

"I'd rather not," Kyoya deadpanned before walking away. Secretly, though, he was grateful that Fuyumi cared about him enough to want to cheer him up after he talked with his father.

He gulped once, twice, before opening the double doors to his father's study. The infamous glint of a pair of glasses behind the desk made him gulp again.

"Hello, Father," he greeted in a voice that, as usual, sounded too calm for the thumping in his chest.

"Kyoya, you finished the report on the deal?" _Already getting down to business._

"Yes, I emailed it to you last night, I believe. I think we initially planned to go over it this evening, not right after I came back home." There was the near-imperceptible hint of amusement and...anger?...on his father's face. That was not a good sign. His father rarely got angry at Kyoya — he often settled for disappointment, or light praise if Kyoya did something exceptional — but it was never pretty when he did. _This meeting is not about my report, is it?_

"I understand your confusion, but there was something pressing that I wanted to discuss with you first." He pulled out a slightly crumpled letter and showed it to Kyoya. "Care to explain?"

"It's an acceptance letter from Harvard," Kyoya replied with a passably blank expression. He swallowed painfully.

"Why," his father asked in a sort of calm yell, "did you apply to Harvard and not Ouran University's medical program?"

"I think I would be a better fit for business than medicine." _Shut up, just shut up. I'm making it worse for myself._

"Kyoya, I was thinking of naming you the heir, but I cannot if you do not go into medicine. Do you not want to be a part of the Ootori Group? When you turned management back to me after you saved the Ootori Group, I thought that you had lost your obsession with becoming the heir, but I did not imagine that you would actually end up rejecting the Ootori Group when the time came." The words, underscored with seething frustration, made him flinch.

"I do not want to run the Ootori Group. I'm sorry, but I plan on finding success another way." Kyoya's voice was now more robotic than emotionless.

His father seemed to blow a top. He slammed the letter down on his desk. "You are the third son who has been given the chance to run an entire conglomerate. Others would never even consider you." He shook his head. "This must be Suoh's and Fujioka's fault."

Even though he had not felt terrible and bitter about his situation since Tamaki taught him to accept and even use his situation to succeed, even though he knew better than to get angry and leave himself vulnerable, Kyoya suddenly grew furious. He did not really know why, but perhaps it was due to the fact that his father had brought his best friends into this and because his father's words were so similar to those in Kyoya's dream that morning. _Bringing them into this was a big mistake, Father. Even though I don't hate you as much as once had, I will not let you disrespect me or the people close to me._

"How _dare_ you! I spent the last couple of years desperately trying to please you because, apparently, your sons do not deserve anything unless they can prove themselves to be successful. I spent so many sleepless nights maintaining my grades, working on whatever you want me to do and looking into what else I could possibly do for the Ootori Group, and managing connections with those who could potentially benefit the Ootori Group. I did everything I could to show that I deserved to be heir, yet you never even gave me a glance." He paused as he tried to process everything that he wanted to say. "Dammit! Forget about giving me a glance. Most of the time you are not even home, and when you are, you make sure to remind me of how much work I have to do to become your successor. _Tamaki and Haruhi_ are the ones who showed me that I am not worthless, that I can be successful if I put in the effort. They made me realize that I could perhaps do better than running my family's zaibatsu. They were better to me than you ever were." _Shit. Did I just yell at my father?_

His father stood up. "I let you be the heir! What more do you want?"

Kyoya saw red. "I WANT YOU TO APPRECIATE YOUR OWN SONS! IS IT REALLY THAT DAMN HARD?" As he roared at his father, his hands clenched into fists and he felt his nails dig deep into his palms. He thought about how the deep, crescent-shaped cuts that he would undoubtedly leave on his hands as a result would serve as a memory of this conversation.

He braced himself when his father stepped closer to him. But a slap never came. What _did_ come was worse.

"Get out of my house!" his father screamed. "GET OUT OF MY HOUSE! You are no longer part of this family. Take your things and LEAVE! You don't want a part of the Ootori Group, THEN DON'T BE A PART OF THIS FAMILY! You are going to regret ever saying that you will not be the heir."

And just like that, Yoshio Ootori's most promising son was no longer part of the family.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaaaahhh! I want to cry.
> 
> The fic will be light and fluffy again soon enough. Don't worry. I love some good fluff to complement the angst. 
> 
> When I think about it, it rather fits the nature of the manga and anime: cute and comedic, but absolutely tear jerking at some parts. At least I hope so.


	13. Consolation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warning! ⚠️ If you don’t feel comfortable reading about suicide and self harm, please do not read this!

If that was how it was going to be, so be it. It was not far of from what he had expected and would only make his choice easier, anyway. Kyoya exited the room, slamming the doors shut behind him.

He hardly remembered walking to his room, but he soon found himself staring at the TV in the living room area. _I will never be in my room again._

Before he could stop himself, he yelled and threw a vase at the TV. The loud crash that followed was more than satisfying. He grabbed a decorative rock and threw it at the aquarium, which thankfully did not contain any fish at the moment because Tachibana had moved them to a fishbowl in another room so he could clean the tank. _Like that would be necessary now._ Kyoya then went on to break all the windows he could.

Fuyumi's voice suddenly came from the entrance to his room. "Kyoya, stop it! Don't do this to yourself." He froze and stared at the small marble statue he held in his quivering hands. _Had I been shaking this whole time?_ Suddenly, the full extent of what had just happened hit him, and panic finally set in. _I have been disowned! Fuyumi, what am I going to do now? What will my classmates think? It will be all over the news tomorrow. If not for my grades and my money, I would have been demoted to Class B or C._ He hated how his thoughts were broken and simple, like those of a little elementary school student, but his mind would not stop panicking incoherently. _Calm down. Calm down. Try to breathe normally._ But he could not get himself to. His room seemed to start spinning, and his knees felt dangerously weak.

"Kyoya?" Fuyumi's face contorted with worry. His knees buckled and he crumpled to the ground. "KYOYA!" The last thing he remembered before he lost consciousness was his sister running to catch him.

When he woke up, he found himself in Haruhi's bedroom. He stared at a pair of warm, chocolate-brown doe eyes and a colder pair of onyx eyes, so much like his own, behind thin-framed glasses.

"Oh, he's awake!" Haruhi exclaimed as she exhaled in relief.

The other person remained silent, instead looking at Kyoya with a sharp, critical expression. _Yuichi. Of course._ Of Kyoya's two brothers, Yuichi had always been the fondest of him, even if the eldest Ootori son was not exactly a warm person. "How are you feeling, Kyoya?"

"What do you think?"

Yuichi looked down at the floor. "I see. I will call you later to check up with you, but seeing that your vitals are fine and that you have woken up, I will leave. Fujioka?"

"Thank you. I'll take care of him." The man nodded before heading out of the bedroom. Kyoya propped himself up against the headboard. He felt Haruhi sit down next to him.

"Kyoya..." As Haruhi tucked a strand of his surprisingly disheveled hair behind his ear, his eyes met hers. "You never do something half-assed, do you?"

He barely reacted to the bluntly worded question. "I guess not."

"Fuyumi brought all your clothes, books, your school bag, and small mementos that she thought you might want to keep with you. She also said that your new glasses had arrived soon after you left and that she packed them for you."

"She did?" His voice cracked slightly, and a small, understanding smile graced Haruhi's lips before she pressed them to his forehead.

"Yes, she did. Where are you planning to stay? Can you stay with your mother or something? Wait, if you're completely disowned, then..."

He felt his emotions get replaced by solid ice. "My mother? I haven't seen her in years."

"Really? I mean, I never saw your mother or even heard anything about her, but...Wait, I thought you said during the sports competition that both of your parents had been too busy to attend. I heard you tell Kaoru that."

 _A lie that was so easy to make up at that moment._ "I actually haven't seen her since I was eight."

"But why?" _Because my father sent her away after a suicide attempt._

"She is at a psychiatric hospital because she is suicidal. I don't like talking about her much, really." His voice was that of a stranger's. The numbness he felt grew as he recalled his last memory with his mother.

_Eight-year old Kyoya walked into his mother's room to find her too pale and too still body lying on the floor, his brothers and sister huddling around it. The book about the stock market he had been carrying fell to the ground with an almost deafening thud. He felt that he should be crying or screaming, but nothing came out. His brothers, whom he was shocked to see were crying, immediately grabbed him and led him away._

" _Mommy is going to be fine, okay? An ambulance is coming and will take her to one of our hospitals," Yuichi gently told him as if he were a three-year-old. This served to upset him further instead of comforting him._

" _But what happened? Why is she...Why is Mom unconscious?"_

" _She tried to off herself," Akito replied in a rather blasé voice, but the tears gleaming on his face betrayed his true feelings._

" _Akito! He is just eight. We don't need him to know that much."_

" _He is a smart kid, Yuichi. He would somehow get the information from the doctors without anyone knowing." Kyoya would have normally glowed at such praise, but now he felt no such happiness._

_Kyoya watched as the oldest brother carefully wiped away his own tears. "Yuichi, why did she do such a thing? I thought Mom loved us."_

_Yuichi bent down before Kyoya and put his hands on Kyoya's shoulders. "Grown-ups are complicated. She loves us, but sometimes she doesn't feel quite right, you know? Sometimes the monsters in people's heads can get too much to take." Kyoya had not fully understood what Yuichi told him that day, but it did not take long for him to finally realize just how true that statement was._

"So that's why you have thanatophobia." She took his hands in hers. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bring it up and make everything worse."

He shook his head as if trying to shake his thoughts out of his mind. "You don't have to be sorry, Haruhi. After all, I brought up your mother during the thunderstorm the other day." His voice cracked again. "I should leave. You were asking where I will stay? I'll live in an apartment or something until I have to go to Harvard."

"That sounds like a good idea, but why don't you spend the night with me? I don't want to let you leave my apartment right now, not when you got disowned by your father. Tamaki would probably be better at comforting you, but he's out with his mother. That's why you were brought here, anyway." Her head tilted slightly to the side as she looked at him with her large doe eyes. An entirely unaffected gesture. "I want to help you."

He suddenly lunged forward and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her flush against him as he buried his face in the crook of her neck. When he felt her arms tighten around him in return, he let go. For the first time in a long while, he broke down and sobbed. He hardly made any sound as hot tears obscured his vision and wet her shirt. It felt cathartic to at last cry, and he found that he could not stop. Her fingers ran soothingly through his hair, just like she had the other day when he had a migraine. The motion comforted him and, eventually — after what seemed like hours — the tears stopped falling.

As he brushed away the remaining tears, it suddenly hit him how awkward it must have been for Haruhi to have someone crying on her. Neither of them were the comforting nor the emotional type. "Sorry, I just..."

"It's okay. I'd be worried if you didn't cry over this. Feel better?"

Kyoya gave a small, shallow chuckle. _When has she turned into a supportive caretaker?_ "I'll be fine, I think. It's just been quite a shock. I wanted to leave the Ootori Group but not the damn family itself."

"That's reassuring. Come on, let's get some sleep, okay? Unless you want to eat something first?"

"I'm not hungry." Haruhi nodded sympathetically before spreading her arms out wide.

"Come here. Whenever I felt stressed, Tamaki would insist on cuddling with me. Of course, if you don't want to..." Haruhi flushed a brilliant red. Kyoya, for some reason entirely beyond him, practically leaped into her embrace. "Mpfh. Kyo-" Her blush grew even more vivid.

Kyoya loosened his grip on her waist and rested his head on her chest. " _Ich liebe dich, mein Engel._ "

"I'm not sure what that means, but goodnight, Kyoya." For the first time that day, he gave a small, true smile.

Ranka came in later that night and smiled when he saw the two sleeping, Haruhi's arms still wrapped around Kyoya.


	14. Wings

Kyoya woke up in the middle of the night and carefully got out of Haruhi's embrace so as to not wake her. The darkness was comforting to his racing mind, and he sat on the floor and ran his fingers over the tatami mat. It was then that he realized that there were bandages wrapped around the palms of his hands. _The cuts I made with my fingernails must have been pretty deep. I probably cut my hands even more when I broke a lot of my things as well._ _Funny how that is the least of my worries._ Now that he could think clearly, he considered his options.

He heard her stir. "Kyoya?" He made out her silhouette sitting up the bed.

"Just thinking about things. I fell asleep, but when I woke up my mind wouldn't turn off, so I decided to sit here and think," Kyoya answered.

Haruhi sat down next to him. Now that she was closer, he could make out more of her in the dark. She was looking at his face, noting how tired and stressed he looked. "Kyoya, what are you worried about? I mean what _exactly_ is bothering you?" She leaned into his shoulder before giving him a hug.

Kyoya smiled and twisted in her embrace to face her. "My mind is more clear now, and I'm processing what has happened. While I have no regrets, things are different now. The power my name once held won't be there anymore...I'll have to to make my own name in business now..."

"Do you want to talk about it?" she asked carefully as she released her hug and went back to resting her head on his shoulder. "You didn't tell me yet about how you _really_ feel about being disowned." Looking back at the last chapter, he supposed that she was not wrong.

He gave a shrug. "What is there to really say? I can't say that I am not relieved, even if it causes problems for me in the short term. I think in the long run, this might actually help me with my plans."

"I agree. Your fa — no, that's not right — Ootori-san just doesn't understand how awfully controlling he is," she said, patting his shoulder. "I don't think he forced you to do anything out of malice until today." She paused as if what she had said had been somewhat distasteful. "Even so, he often forgot to think about how it was affecting you, making him hateful and his actions not okay. Just because he was your father doesn't mean you should let him continue using you as his puppet." _How very naïve and insightful of her. Yes, I was a puppet. Nothing but a_ _nother high-ranking member of the Ootori Group. Or at least that is how Yoshio treated me and my brothers. As for whether he had meant well by being so stern and urging me to succeed_ _...that's much harder to say, but I do believe that he did in a way._ Kyoya smiled. "I'm actually kind of glad that you are free from his clutches," she added with her trademark sweet smile.

"Is that so?" He paused. "Now, if something else happens and I need a lawyer, are you going to help me?" he asked lightly, his voice sounding surprisingly happy. He found it amusing that he could make a joke despite the fact that he was decidedly not in such a mood.

She laughed and nodded. "I haven't studied law in school yet, but you can be sure that I will do my best!"

He sighed as his temporary, faked joy left him. "Haruhi, have you ever read _The Girl Who Lost Her Wings_?" Tamaki had gifted him the book on his birthday last year. It was about a girl who gave her wings up for finding happiness, only realizing afterwards that she had been happy the way she was. Her happiness, her wings, had given her the freedom to fly and see the world. The message of the book was clear: one who runs after happiness will run past it.

The story _was_ rather cheesy, but Kyoya could relate to the character, because he, too, once gave up his happiness for obtaining happiness that had never been his own. Haruhi knew that he used to chase his happiness and went way too far after empty sparkles. When he first read the book, he almost anxiously wondered if the girl would ever get her wings back and if he would ever get his own happiness back. Now he was free, even if it was not under the most desirable circumstances, and he was with Haruhi, which made him undeniably happy, but his wings were faded. He was sure that they had been on the brink of being lost until the Host Club had come into his life.

"I read it, yes." Haruhi took his bandaged hand in hers.

"Do you think I have lost my wings?" his voice was serious.

She looked up at him and her eyes widened at the sadness in his eyes. "I..." she stammered.

Kyoya gave her hand a squeeze and looked into her eyes, "If I ever happen to give up my wings," he said, "don't let me..."

She nodded, looking unsure as to how to respond to such an unusual exchange. "With your determination to make a new name for yourself, I don't think that is going to happen anytime soon. You just have to continue believing in yourself, even if the Ootoris do not."

Kyoya had fallen silent. There wasn't anything to say. He knew Haruhi didn't expect him to say anything. Instead, they both went back to bed, and she nuzzled up to him. While he was not a fan of physical contact, he enjoyed having her next to him and cuddling with her. It felt right, in a way, in a world full of wrongs. It was hard to believe that less than a week before, he and Haruhi had not been dating. They had gotten so close so quickly. _Maybe because we have known each other for so long and had developed a mutual respect for our abilities._

Kyoya woke up to the overly loud and obnoxious ringtone that signaled that Tamaki was calling him. Only one emotion filled him now: anger. His hand groped around for his phone until he finally got a hold of it. _I was this close, THIS CLOSE to getting a decent amount of sleep and waking up this morning in a relatively good mood._

"Tamaki? What is he doing up so early?" Haruhi said sleepily as she woke up as well. "He has no common sense." _Blunt as usual._

"He _does_ have a death wish, apparently," he replied before answering the phone. "What do you want, Tamaki? It's freaking 5:30 in the morning. I want to sleep some more. In case you didn't know, I didn't exactly have the best day yesterday."

 _"I know Kyoya, but you HAVE to come to school RIGHT NOW!"_ Tamaki was practically shouting into the phone with excitement. Kyoya pried the phone from his ears out of a desire to keep his hearing intact.

"Tamaki, stop yelling and tell me what you want." The blond gasped dramatically.

_"FATHER JUST WANTED TO CHEER MOMMY UP WITH A SURPRISE! Why is Mommy so MEAN?"_

"Because you are moronic and I'm tired of your shit, DADDY DEAREST!" _The last thing I want to do is go to Ouran early so that people have more time to gossip about my disownment and offer me "pity."_ Tamaki gave a plaintive "eep" and hung up. _Probably went to cry in a corner or something out of fear, rejection, and self pity._ Haruhi seemed to melt into the walls.

He got up and got his new pair of glasses from his suitcase. "Okay, Haruhi. Let's get going. Better go and check what Tamaki has prepared for me before he grows a mushroom forest."

She chuckled nervously as he sat back down on the bed. "Umm, I still need to change. And you might want to change into a spare uniform and change your bandages. Your uniform is all wrinkled now." It hit him that he had not changed out of his uniform since the previous afternoon and that it had gotten all messed up while he had slept. The bandages were dirty and stained with his blood. Haruhi, meanwhile, was currently in her pajamas. _Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant._

"All right, then. We will change and _then_ head to Ouran." Suddenly the doorbell rang, and Kyoya stood up. "I'll get it. You go get ready, Haruhi."

He did not know who he had been expecting to ring the doorbell at an ungodly hour of the morning, but his three bodyguards definitely were not on his list of potential suspects. He stood, frozen, as he stared at the three faces he thought he would never see again.

"Master Kyoya! We just left the Ootori mansion, and we are here to continue serving you as team Kyoya," Tachibana began. _What? Seriously?_

Hotta nodded, his black sunglasses complementing his stoic aura. "We did not want to leave you, sir."

"We can drive you around in our car, just like we did in France," Aijima finished. _Thank god. I did not want to walk everywhere I had to go. What would I do without your service?_

Kyoya grinned evilly, hiding his surprise and joy at seeing them again. "I see. Is there any reason why you guys came to say this so early in the morning?" The three sweatdropped, and Kyoya's smirk grew.

"We'll be in the car, then. Just come out and get in once you and Fujioka are ready." Kyoya nodded, and the three (somewhat relieved to not have to stay) men left.

Haruhi then stepped out of her room, finally fully dressed. "Kyoya, are you sure you want to go? I'm sure you don't want to deal with your classmates yet."

Kyoya sighed. "I don't. I have no idea what they might say or do about the fact that I have been...disowned." _To make it more annoying, there will probably be some rumors that will spread as to why._

She frowned as she put on her coat. "Why don't you skip school today? Yesterday was fairly hectic for you, so you should take some time to relax and figure out what you want to do. You can stay here and search online for an available apartment or something. I'm sure Tamaki could get your schoolwork for you and share his notes with you. Knowing you, missing a day would hardly cause your grades to drop."

Kyoya smiled at her thoughtfulness. "Tamaki would be distraught, so I don't think that is happening. He has a surprise all ready for me. That's why we are both up so early in the first place." _Sigh._

"Why don't you go see what dramatic surprise he has for you and then come back?"

Kyoya looked at his watch. _Only one day off. It would not kill me to relax for just a day, would it? I'll meet with Hayato Hitachiin another day as well._ "Fine."

When he arrived at Ouran and stepped into the music room, he was half-expecting Tamaki to dramatically appear with a parade of baby elephants. Maybe even fully grown ones if the blond could manage to get them inside Ouran. Instead he found Tamaki dramatically yelling at the twins for who-knows-what.

"YOU SHADY TWINS! YOU TWO WILL NOT MESS IT UP FOR KYOYA!" The blond's face contorted with anger and his eyes seemed to burst into flames, making him look almost comical. Kyoya's eyes began to twitch, and Haruhi looked like she wanted nothing more than to go back home. He sympathized.

"We just wanted to have some fun," Hikaru replied in a callously annoyed voice. "A harmless prank won't hurt. It will cheer him up. Obviously you don't want him happy." Tamaki spluttered comically. _Seems like Hikaru and Kaoru had a prank planned for me. How is that supposed to make me happy again?_

Kaoru finally brought to the two idiots' attention that he and Haruhi were silently watching the mayhem. "Tono, Hikaru...Haruhi and Kyoya-senpai are here. Seems like we can't do the prank after all." Kyoya rolled his eyes. _What a pity._

Tamaki and Hikaru froze and turned to face Kyoya. "HARUHI! Did Mommy terrorize you this morning? DON'T WORRY! DADDY WILL SAVE YOU!" The blond ran towards her and defensively hugged her from behind.

Haruhi, deadpanning, expertly wiggled out of his grip. "I think I am more frightened by that prospect than I was of Kyoya's irritability. Besides, if what you said about him being dangerous is true, doesn't that mean that you put me in danger this morning instead of saving me? You were the one who made him angry by waking him up so early."

Kyoya smirked as the twins gave identical evil grins. "Some father you are, putting your daughter in danger like that," the Hitachiins said in unison. Tamaki gave a strangled gasp and ran to the nearest corner to be emo in what was a performance worthy of a Japanese Academy Award.

Kyoya ignored the blond's display of dejection and turned to the twins. "So, what surprise did our brilliant president come up with?"

They shrugged their shoulders in sync. "He brought a present for you and we are going to watch a movie to cheer you up or something. That's why we are meeting so early in the morning. Milord wanted Honey-senpai and Mori-senpai to come as well, but they have classes so they can't." Hikaru explained. _That is not overly extravagant at all. Did Tamaki actually think it through this time?_

" _Tamaki_ came up with such a normal idea?" Haruhi asked incredulously. "It's rather nice of him to think of what Kyoya would like instead of just going all out as usual." _It is. Thank you, Tamaki. Even though you clearly could have done this after school at your house instead of so early in the morning._

"You really think so, daughter?" Tamaki cried with happiness as he ran to hug Haruhi again. _And you ruined it, you idiot._

"I regret saying that now."

The blond ignored this, pulling out a present badly wrapped in a decidedly garish looking wrapping paper decorated with bright, almost psychedelic colors. "For Mommy, because he deserves the best after being so HEARLESSLY disowned! MON AMI! We are all sorry about what happened. I know that this will only lead to better things in the future, but it must be AWFUL!" _I'm touched, but will you please learn how to wrap presents properly or at least have someone else do it for you?_ Kyoya gingerly took the gift and peeled off the wrapping paper. He unveiled a Pineapple laptop similar to his own, but it was sleeker and was lavender instead of gleaming silver. The top was decorated with a simple but elegant floral design done in black, grey, and a darker shade of purple. "Wait, why are your hands all bandaged?"

Kyoya did not answer the question. "So you actually did end up getting me a new laptop," he finally said, amused. "This is actually very nice." _Tamaki sure loves to give me purple things, doesn’t he? Very...colorful._

The blond turned into an over-eager puppy, complete with enlarged eyes and "paws" dangling in front of him. "Isn't it? I was going to get you twenty of them, but Shima said no, so I just got you one."

 _What would I have done with twenty laptops? Seriously?_ "Does it have more RAM and a longer battery life than the one I currently have? Otherwise this isn't particularly useful." He knew the laptop did because he was familiar with the particular model, but he wanted to get his revenge for being woken up so early. Tamaki's face dropped.

"I don't know..." Kyoya adjusted his glasses, pushing it up the bridge of his nose with his index finger.

"Don't tell me you were so concerned about personalizing the appearance that you did not think about the actual functionality of the laptop." Tamaki went back to the corner, and Kyoya smiled innocently.

"It does have more RAM and a longer battery life, doesn't it?" Haruhi asked, deadpanning at Tamaki's drama. Kyoya shrugged nonchalantly and his smile grew.

"Tono, let's watch the movie," Kaoru reminded the blond.

"Oh, right. We are watching the _Lion_ _King_. I watched it when we stayed in Boston for five months, and it is amazing!" The hafu went on to gush about how wonderful the movie was.

"Let's get on with it," Kyoya told him with a sigh, but then smiled. "I do appreciate all of this. Tamaki, you just wanted me to relax a bit, didn't you?"

The blond smiled in return. "Again, with all that happened, I thought you might need this. You did so much for me, between managing the Host Club and dealing with the Suoh scandal...I just thought I should do something for you."

Kyoya's gratitude towards Tamaki quickly evaporated when the blond started to cry hysterically during the movie. Haruhi, who had been resting her head on his shoulder, and he exchanged looks. _That's the second time this morning that he has made me regret thinking of him as anything but an idiot. A kind idiot, but an idiot nevertheless. As soon as I am grateful, he reminds me of how stupid he is._

Still, Kyoya had to admit that was a wonderful morning, considering recent events.


	15. Friendship

By the time the movie was over, it was almost 8am.

Haruhi was the first to get up. "Tamaki, can I go home now? School starts in an hour and I'm hungry. I have to eat breakfast."

As usual, Tamaki took her blunt statement the wrong way and thought that she hated the _Lion King_. "My daughter is being rebellious and didn't like my surprise!" Tamaki wailed. "Mommy, was the movie bad? Didn't you like the surprise?"

Kyoya resisted the urge to respond snarkily and send Tamaki to the corner. "The movie is childish, yes, but rather enjoyable. It's just that she's hungry and needs to eat something before school. We didn't have time to have breakfast, as you wanted us to come as quickly as we could."

"Milord has a rather sensitive ego," said the twins in unison.

"Be quiet, you shady twins!" And with that the Host Club King was after the Hitachiins, while Haruhi and Kyoya took the opportunity to sneak out of the music room.

Soon he was sitting on Haruhi's bed, his new laptop sitting on his lap and a warm cup of commoner's coffee in his hand. Ranka was in the kitchen, still finishing the meal lovingly prepared for him by Haruhi. She had left to go to Ouran after serving breakfast for Ranka and herself (Kyoya was, again, not in the mood to eat). While she had been indignant when he refused to eat, she had finally caved, serving him some black coffee and insisting that he eat some of the leftover curry in the fridge before she came back.

Suddenly, his phone rang. _An anonymous number? That's strange._

"Kyoya Ootori speaking."

 _"Hello, Kyoya,"_ said a familiar, smooth voice from the other end. Kyoya could practically _hear_ the condescending smile the person was wearing, as well as smell the alcohol that was obviously in the person's breath. Now everything made sense: the caller had used another person's phone to ensure that Kyoya's phone did not display his name. He correctly assumed that Kyoya would not have answered if it had. Kyoya had to applaud the person for thinking so clearly when he was so obviously drunk. Not only had the man's greeting have a slight slur to the words, but Kyoya also knew him well enough to know that the emotion behind the statement certainly would not have come naturally. _It isn't even noon yet and he's already drunk._

"Ah, Akito. What is it that you want?"

_"I just wanted to let you know that Yuichi is now the heir, and I will be working under him. And you, you are out of the picture. Do you understand the role of the third son yet, brat? You almost ruined everything."_

Yes, Akito was definitely drunk. His free hand clenched into a fist as thoughts that had not crossed his mind since the previous afternoon began to resurface. "Your lack of ambition and the jealousy you feel towards my accomplishments do not excuse your rudeness, Akito. You've been acting this way towards me since our mother left." _Is it okay to still call her my mother? I mean, she's not the one who disowned me._ "You interrogate any friends I bring over, insult me any chance you get, and keep insisting that I am wasting my time at the Host Club. Just because I'm younger, you vent all your frustration on me. It's not fair. Find someone else who cares," Kyoya finished as coldly as he could. He knew better than to act so rude and bitter, but he was not about to give Akito the satisfaction of letting the other's words get to him.

 _"This...This is why Father doesn't want you anymore,"_ Akito spluttered. Kyoya smirked, but his fist grew tighter. It was only too easy to get Akito riled up. _"You—"_

Kyoya hung up on him and stared at his phone. While Akito was rude and inconsiderate, he did have a point. Yes, it _was_ Kyoya's fault. There was no point in insisting otherwise. His father had gotten way too angry, but _he_ was the one who had tried to fight fire with fire. Maybe if he had not gotten so upset, he could have gotten his father to cool down and the two of them might have reached an agreement. He was no worse than Nanako Shouji had once been. He should have formally declared his intention to go to Harvard and leave the Ootori Group instead of getting in a shouting match.

He screamed and snapped his phone in half.

"Kyoya! What's wrong?" Ranka cried, running into the bedroom. _Crap. He is still here._

Shame from his outburst hit Kyoya like a brick. _I'm acting like my old, angry-at-life self._ "I'm fine, just give me—" The transvestite tried to give him a hug to calm him down, but Kyoya pushed him off. "Don't. Touch. Me," he said slowly and deliberately, his voice as calm as it normally was until the very last syllable, where it uncharacteristically broke. "Leave me alone...please..."

"Kyoya?" It was scary how serious the bubbly crossdresser could get. He looked frightened by Kyoya's behavior, which was so different from how the reserved and emotionally detached student normally acted. If Kyoya was being honest, he was shocked by his own behavior, too.

Kyoya's gaze hardened at the unsaid question, and he defensively crossed his arms. His façade slipped into place. "Go to work, Ranka. You are going to be late."

"Oh! You're right!" Ranka giggled nervously. "Bye! But this isn't over, Kyoya. I've gotten to know you enough over the past two years to worry when something is bothering you." With that he was gone.

Kyoya, finally calming down and knowing that there was no point in curling up into a ball and just lying there, went back to work, his fingers flying over the new laptop's lavender keyboard. He sent an email to Hayato Hitachiin and started looking into places where he could stay until he went to Harvard. He was looking at a rather nice looking penthouse not so far away from Ouran when his phone (thankfully he always had an extra phone with him) rang once more. Again, it was an anonymous number.

"Hello. This is Kyoya Ootori speaking."

The familiar voice of Yuzuru Suoh came from the other end. _"Hello, Kyoya. I just wanted to talk with you for a bit."_

"Whatever you wish, chairman," Kyoya replied politely. _I'll have to make sure that I store this number so I remember this is him._

_"How...How are you doing?"_

Kyoya shrugged, though he knew that the chairman would not be able to see him. "I'm fine. How about you?"

_"Kyoya, this is not about me. You do understand that you no longer have your lineage to back you up at Ouran, right?"_

"Yes." There were no two ways about it: the Ootoris were influential and well-known. Without the family name backing him up, he was nothing. A very _wealthy_ nothing thanks to all the investments he had made in the past, but still nothing. He knew he probably would not be demoted to the lower classes, but it was still going to affect his social standing.

_"Lineage and wealth are exceptionally important when it comes to your standing in Ouran. However, seeing that you are still wealthy and are one of the brightest students to have ever attended Ouran, I am willing to keep you in class A."_

_Of course. That is just as I expected._ "Thank you. I appreciate that."

_"Where are you staying right now?"_

"I'm actually at Haruhi's house right now, but I'm planning to stay in an apartment until I go to Harvard." _A penthouse, actually, but same thing._

_"Ah, Fujioka-san. Are you two close now?"_

"You could say."

 _"Does she know about..."_ The tone in Yuzaru's voice told Kyoya that he was not talking about his disownment.

"No, but I do intend to tell her." He paused and pursed his lips. "I don't want her to worry about it, as it was in the past, anyway. I told her about my mother. That's a start, isn't it?"

 _"Yes. It is, Kyoya,"_ Yuzaru quickly assured him. _"I'm proud of you for saying that much, at least. But are you sure that being disowned hasn't..."_

Kyoya froze. "Chairman, I appreciate you worrying about me, but there is no need." _I'm not that person anymore, thanks to Tamaki and now Haruhi._

Yuzaru sighed in defeat. _"As for your future plans, do you intend on attending Ouran University?"_

"No, sir. I will be attending Harvard starting this fall."

_"Ah, well done. I knew you would succeed if you put your mind to it."_

Kyoya was momentarily stunned by the complement. He did not think he should be praised for something he should be able to do regardless. "Thank you."

_"You are so modest. You know, I think Rikona-san would have been proud of how you turned out. I know I am."_

"Thank you," he repeated, his lips forming a small smile. It felt nice to know that Tamaki's father, at least, was proud of all that he had done.

Yuzaru chuckled. _"That is all, then. Let uncle know if there is anything you need."_ Kyoya internally cringed. _And that's how you know he's related to Tamaki._

"I sure will. Have a good rest of your day!" Kyoya said with faux sweetness before hanging up.

By then it was almost half past noon. He was debating whether he should go eat or not when suddenly the doorbell rang. _Argh. What now? This is getting rather annoying._

He opened the door. "MON AMI! You're ALIVE!" Tamaki squealed, glomping him.

"Told you, Tono," Hikaru said, his brown hair peeking out from behind Tamaki. "He's okay."

"Milord thought that it was a good idea to skip lunch and his afternoon classes to visit you and make sure that you are fine," Kaoru finished, his ginger hair coming out from behind the other side. _Why did they have to come bother me right now? I like to spend time with them, but I'm not in the mood right now._

"No." Kyoya was about to push them outside and shut the door when Hikaru pulled out a bottle of hot sauce.

"We got your favorite hot sauce ~"

Kyoya pinched his nose but then let them go and accepted the gift. "Fine."

"MOMMY IS SO KIND!" Tamaki said, glomping him again. Kyoya gave the blond a murderous glare and peeled him off.

"Hikaru, don't you want to tell Kyoya-senpai something?" Kaoru said. The other twin gave a squeak as he was suddenly pushed towards Kyoya. Tamaki, who was then unceremoniously pulled out of the way, went to sulk in the corner.

"I just wanted to say that I really am sorry for what I said yesterday. I was really rude. So you really do love Haruhi?"

Kyoya nodded. "I love her more than anything, Hikaru. I can't imagine how I would handle any of this if I did not have her." He looked at Kaoru and Tamaki. "I'm sorry if I hurt any of you by confessing to Haruhi. I know she means a lot to all of you."

"Awww. Mommy is being SWEEEEET!" Tamaki squealed as he again went to hug Kyoya. _Seriously?_ Kyoya deadpanned and pushed him away.

Hikaru laughed. "It's okay, Kyoya-senpai. You deserve some happiness more than any of us do."

"Don't say that. You all have had your struggles and deserve better."

Kaoru bristled. "I don't like comparing the problems we have, but I kind of have to. We aren't the ones who were disowned because we are going to Harvard. We are not the ones who are afraid to leave the shadows because we were always chastised by our family for it. We aren't the ones who dream of awful memories. We aren't the ones who were once so fed up with our lives that we used to cut ourselves and think of dying. Don't be so naïve and stubborn. You need her, Kyoya-senpai."

Kyoya inhaled sharply. "How did you know about all that?"

Tamaki looked at him curiously. "It was kind of obvious for me. But you did change once we became friends and started the Host Club."

"I break into your room in the morning fairly frequently," Kaoru explained with a shrug.

Hikaru looked abashed. "What? I never knew, and I said such horrible things to you."

Kyoya smiled. The older twin really had changed during his time in the Host Club. They all had, really. "You already apologized, but thank you. Now, I have to eat. Haruhi said I could have some leftovers she had in the fridge."

"OOOOOOOH! FOOD!" Hikaru and Kaoru yelled and ran to the kitchen, inviting themselves over for lunch.

Tamaki was soon on their heels. "You shady twins! Come back here! Don't eat the food your little sister spent so much time and effort making without her permission!" _As if. You want to eat her cooking, too._ Kyoya knew that he should probably chastise them for acting like children and completely forgetting about the conversation they had been having as soon as food was mentioned, but he could not help but smile and let them be. _Haruhi, forgive me for decimating your food supply._

"All right, kids," he said, his jesting words laced with sarcasm. "Wait for Mommy to warm up the food." The Idiot Trio™ eagerly sat down at the kotatsu set on the kitchen floor, practically vibrating in anticipation of Haruhi's cooking. He rolled his eyes as he took the food out of the microwave and set it on the kotatsu.

A lightbulb seemed to go off in the twins' heads. _Sigh. What have they come up with now?_ "Kyoya-senpai?" Hikaru began with a smirk. "Would you like to play a game with me and Kaoru?"

Kyoya deadpanned, noticing the twins' gaze dropping to the bottle of hot sauce he was still holding. "What game?" He had an idea as to where it was going, but decided to indulge them anyway.

"How about we-" Hikaru started.

Kaoru picked up the question. "-see who's the best at handling spicy food? We can add a certain amount of the hot sauce to the curry and see who lasts the longest."

"That's not fair. You know I can't handle spicy food!" Tamaki wailed.

Hikaru and Kaoru shot him identical grins. "Who said you had to participate in whatever we do, Milord?" the two told him in unison, sending Tamaki straight into a nearby closet to grow mushrooms.

"What is with him and growing mushrooms in other people's closets?" Kaoru asked innocently.

The game was on, and the three took generous servings of curry, rice, and hot sauce. Tamaki, taking some curry and rice without any hot sauce, watched in horror as they began eating. Hikaru began vibrating with the amount of concentration he was putting into not showing that he was affected by the spice. Kaoru wasn't doing much better. All the while Kyoya was shoveling heaping spoonfuls into his mouth. He was not sure exactly why this pleased him so much. Perhaps he prided himself on something silly like this so-called contest. Perhaps it was sheer schadenfreude.

Hikaru let out a stuttering sigh and looked at what must have been a very tempting glass of water in front of him. The condensation on the glass did make the drink look inviting.

Kyoya noticed this and smirked. "I bet a nice cold drink of water would feel wonderful," he taunted, seeing his chance.

"Fuck you."

Kyoya raised an eyebrow. "Ask politely." At this Hikaru stuck his tongue out at him. "Childish and overused, I'm afraid." Tamaki laughed, while Kaoru somehow managed a smile before again tearing up because of the spice.

Hikaru, not wanting to be outdone, shoved a huge spoonful of curry and rice into his mouth, chewing while trying to bore a hole into Kyoya's very soul. Kyoya's wicked grin only grew as Hikaru began to burn up. The twin's face was reddening and eventually a trickle of snot ran out of his nose. Hikaru slammed his fist on the table and went for the water.

"Kyoya-senpai, will you at least give others a chance?" Kaoru complained, his face the same color as his hair.

"I have no idea what you're talking about, Kaoru. I'm only trying to eat my lunch," Kyoya replied with an award-winning smile.

"Damn you!"

"I'm already going to hell anyway, so what type of threat was that supposed to be?"

Tamaki and Hikaru snickered. "Kyoya-senpai always has an answer ready, doesn't he, Milord?" _Yes. Yes I do._

"He's the demon lord," was Tamaki's response. _What does that have to do with anything?_

Suddenly, the front door opened. Apparently, the three had lost track of time.

"HARUHIIII!" Tamaki wailed as he went to greet his "daughter."

"Ah, you guys came to visit? I was wondering why Hikaru and Kaoru were not in class after lunch." She looked at Kyoya. "Were they bothering you?"

He shrugged and then smiled at her. "Not any more than usual."

"SAPPY DEMON LORD! SAPPY DEMON LORD!" The twins screeched repeatedly as if they were sounding an alarm. Kyoya rolled his eyes.

"Can you guys leave? I want some peace and quiet after school. It was nice to have a break from hosting and be able to come home instead, but then you three decided to come here?"

Kyoya chuckled at her bluntness. "Alright, boys. Follow _Daddy_ out the door."

The three whined about having to leave, but finally they hung their heads in defeat and paraded out of the apartment.

"So, what happened while I was gone?" she asked.

Kyoya kissed her forehead. "Long story. I found a penthouse, at least."

Haruhi looked as if she had been deceived. "A penthouse? I thought you were looking for an apartment."

"I'm rich, and penthouses are _technically_ apartments." he reminded her.

Haruhi deadpanned. "Damn these rich people," she muttered.

"What was that?" Kyoya asked with a smile.


	16. The New Penthouse

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warning! ⚠️ If you don’t feel comfortable reading about suicide and self harm, please do not read this!

"How many black suits do you even have? And then there are all your other clothes..." Haruhi asked incredulously the next day as she pulled out one suit after the next from the largest of his suitcases.

"I have many black suits, obviously." Haruhi deadpanned and went back to putting his clothes in his spacious walk-in closet.

Kyoya opened up a smaller (but still large) suitcase that was filled with his books. Fuyumi appeared to have packed every book that had been on his bookshelf. Books related to business and economics. Physics textbooks. True crime novels. Fiction that delved the human psyche and various societal issues. Books in both Japanese and English.

"Wow," Haruhi said when she saw all the books in the suitcase. "I had a feeling that you were an avid reader, but this is just..."

Kyoya chuckled, running his fingers through his raven-colored bangs. "Reading and writing are hobbies of mine."

"You can sing and paint, and now you write, too? I give up." Haruhi sighed and went back to hanging his clothes.

"No point in competing with an Ootori. Even if I am no longer part of the family." He stood up and went to put all his books on his new bookshelf, which was made of black teakwood.

Haruhi laughed. "Fair point."

"Thanks for coming here after school to help me unpack everything and move in here, by the way." She shrugged and went back to hanging his clothes.

He stopped to look around his new bedroom. It was ginormous, though not as large as his old room, and was rather beautiful. While he would not admit exactly how much he liked the penthouse, Kyoya adored it. The sunlight that filtered in through the floor-to-ceiling windows gave the entire place a special radiance, emphasizing the white and golden accents provided by the furniture and contrasting with the dominating dark browns and blacks of teakwood.

He and Fuyumi had spent all morning buying and bringing in the _perfect_ pieces of furniture (to his horror, Fuyumi had come to Haruhi's apartment at eight am and had him skip yet another day of school so that his penthouse would be ready to move into). It turned out that she had packed his favorite pieces of décor — some of which were gifts that he had received from her and Tamaki throughout the years — from his old room, as well as a few of his own paintings. These had been put up around the penthouse and provided most of the color in the place, as everything else was a shade of black and white. Kyoya loved it and thought it made the penthouse seem like an art gallery.

Haruhi had come later in the afternoon to help him unpack the rest of his belongings. "I just wanted to see this place! It's amazing. All the windows and décor make this place feel ultramodern yet charming. It feels so big and open, but it's not so large that it is hard to find your way around."

He caught her drift. _Amazing, yes. That word works. Fuyumi called this place amazing, too._ "The Ootori mansion is not a maze. But thank you. This penthouse is rather _amazing._ ”

"It would be nice, living in a place like this. Maybe when you graduate, you can get someone to build a place like this in America for us..." She froze and turned red. "I mean...I mean for _you_ to stay in! If you want to even stay in America!"

Kyoya turned a delicate pink as he considered it. He knew he could run the business he wanted to in America. He had done no shortage of research, after all. Now that she had been so forthcoming as to say she wanted to live with him in the US, he was not about to refuse such an idea. "No, I wouldn't mind staying with you in the US in the future. It's a bit of a cultural difference, but I really enjoyed my time in Boston." _And now I know that she did, too._

She nodded in relief. "I think I could get my career going in America. When you said you would pay what I need to study at Harvard — if I get in, that is — I was thinking that maybe I should set up a law firm in the US instead of here in Tokyo."

Kyoya nodded before continuing to place his books on the shelf. "That sounds like a good idea. I probably could run whatever business I choose in the US fairly easily, too."

Realization dawned on Haruhi's face. "Did we just mutually agree to move to America and live together there once we graduate from university?"

Kyoya paused, the book he was holding frozen in midair. "I think we just did, Haruhi. Though it’s not set in stone."

A silence filled the room, and they went back to unpacking the suitcases.

"Oh, I forgot to ask you something yesterday. What are people saying about my disownment?"

"The girls found out the truth very quickly. They know that Ootori-san got upset at you because you are going to Harvard."

That did not sound right. "Huh." He frowned as he put a book on the bookshelf. "They are dedicated, and it is impressive how much research they like to conduct on us, but they have their limits. They usually do not find the truth so quickly. They took a few days to figure out about the Suoh scandal, remember?"

"It could be part of his plan, but what would he get out of telling them the truth? Won't that make him look bad and make you look better than you would have looked if people were left to come up with their own theories?"

"I don't know, Haruhi, I don't know..." He felt vaguely uneasy but decided to temporarily focus on unpacking. Working, whether it was analyzing spreadsheets or cleaning up after the hosts, always provided him a welcome distraction.

Over the course of the next half an hour, as they made the penthouse ready for Kyoya to stay in, the sunlight dimmed as the sky turned a gloomy grey. Kyoya frowned slightly before continuing to unpack. The last thing he wanted was a thunderstorm.

As usual, luck was not on his side. A flash of lightning lit up the room, and Haruhi yelped at the following clap of thunder. She sunk to the ground, sobbing in fear, as the thunderstorm made its presence known.

 _Goddamnit._ Kyoya set down the book he had been about to put on his bookshelf and went to bend down in front of her. "Haruhi, it's going to be okay. Come here." Shivering and sobbing, she jumped into his arms and buried her face in his chest. His green cashmere sweater quickly became stained with her tears, but he decided to ignore this and instead focus on the girl crying on him. "Haruhi, it's okay," he repeated.

"I'm scared..."

"Shh," he soothed. "It's okay." Slowly, he began to sing a song he remembered from the soundtrack of a movie he had watched in Boston.

_"I remember tears streaming down your face when I said I'll never let you go_   
_When all those shadows almost killed your light_   
_I remember you said don't leave me here alone_   
_But all that's dead and gone and passed tonight_

_Just close your eyes, the sun is going down_   
_You'll be alright, no one can hurt you now_   
_Come morning light, you and I'll be safe and sound_

_Don't you dare look out your window, darling everything's on fire_   
_The war outside our door keeps raging on_   
_Hold onto this lullaby even when the music's gone, gone_

_Just close your eyes, the sun is going down_   
_You'll be alright, no one can hurt you now_   
_Come morning light, you and I'll be safe and sound..."_

His voice trailed off, and her breathing slowed. _It worked._ He thought she had fallen asleep when her voice, barely louder than a whisper, broke the two's silence. "That was beautiful...Will you keep talking or sing something else? Listening to you is calming, just like the sound of typing was."

He smiled warmly. "If you want me to, I suppose I could." He thought about what he could possibly tell her to calm her down. "Can I share something personal with you?" _Maybe sharing my own secrets would make her feel better._ Haruhi merely nodded. "Before I met Tamaki, my atelophobia and self-doubt were so bad that I thought horrible things about myself."

"Really?" Her voice wavering only slightly as another clap of thunder rang out.

Kyoya pressed his lips against her forehead. "Yes, I did. I used to think that there was no point in me existing. I thought that as the third son, I was an extra, a spare."

Haruhi gasped, but it was not because of the thunderstorm raging around them. "You wanted to die?"

 _Put that way, it is rather grim._ "I'm no Esther Greenwood," he said, gesturing to the book he had left on the floor: _The Bell Jar_ by Sylvia Plath. "I couldn't get past planning such a thing. Not after my mother almost ended her life. Now, of course, I know better. I didn't want to end my life. I wanted to end the life I had. Does that make sense?"

Haruhi's embrace tightened. "It does. And I'm glad. I'm glad that you couldn't do it. I'm glad that you are not that type of person anymore. It's such a horrible thing..."

 _Thank you. I am a different person now. I was worried that the information would completely change her mind about me. I was worried that she would not understand that I'm not like that anymore._ He looked down at the cuts on his hands which had begun to heal. _At least not really._ "I know, and I'm glad, too. There are other things I did out of desperation, too." His brow creased. "There are scars on my thighs from when I felt like everything was too much. But the satisfaction I felt by making them was temporary, and I now am willing to admit that they never solved anything. I finally stopped around a month after I became friends with Tamaki. After making a friend like that, there was no need for me to continue. I found a purpose, and for the first time, I felt like I mattered, like I was important. And I was. Without me, who knows what would have happened to the Host Club." He chuckled at the thought, and Haruhi smiled despite her tears. "And now, I'm happy because I am with you. Even if being disowned has upset me somewhat, I am glad to be with you."

"You _are_ sappy," Haruhi said, grinning more widely now. "I love you, you idiot."

Kyoya leaned in so that their foreheads were touching. "I love you, too," Kyoya whispered. "But don't wear the words out, will you? And I resent being called an idiot." He raised his eyebrows to ensure that she understood he was only joking. Haruhi chuckled. "Will you remember me and this conversation the next time there is a thunderstorm? If it helps...Even if your fear never really goes away..."

Haruhi gently removed his glasses, and his eyes widened in surprise. A clap of thunder sounded, emphasizing the moment in a rather dramatic fashion. "Definitely. Will you remember me in return? If you ever feel upset, if you ever need someone there for you, will you suck up your pride and tell me? Like I always told Tamaki, it is okay to be a mess. I'll be there to help. I'll guard your wings if you guard mine."

He kissed her. "Haruhi Fujioka, you really are something."

She flushed scarlet. "That means a lot coming from you. Thanks." He was about to lean in for another kiss when she returned his glasses and went to continue unpacking his books. "I feel a lot better about the thunderstorm right now, so we should continue unpacking. You do want to move in tonight, right? Don't want to miss a third day of school."

Kyoya laughed and got up to help her. _Haruhi certainly is something, all right._

Haruhi merely looked at him as if he had lost his mind and went back to putting books on the bookshelf. "Why are you laughing?"

"Nothing. I can finish putting all the books up. I think it would be more efficient if you just go and unpack another suitcase. There's only one more left, right?"

"Yes. The fourth and last one. If it is another suitcase filled with clothes...One was enough. It contained _more_ clothes and accessories than I thought was even possible for one person to have. No need for more clothes."

Kyoya smiled, knowing very well what was in that suitcase. "Why don't you go see?" he teased.

"It does have more clothes, doesn't it?" Haruhi deadpanned.


	17. Rain, Kisses, and a Painting of a Dove

By the time the suitcases were unpacked and everything was in its place, it was past midnight. Rain was still pouring down, the harmonious cacophony they created when they fell no longer masked by the louder booms of thunder. 

Kyoya frowned as he stared at the glistening raindrops sliding down the floor-to-ceiling windows. It was raining _much_ too hard for anyone to safely travel. “Haruhi, I’d rather not have you go home right now. Would you please stay the night?”

Haruhi looked at him, shocked. “But what about my pajamas? What about my stuff for school tomorrow? What about Dad?”

Not even ten minutes later, she was standing in Kyoya’s closet, wearing a set of icy blue flannel pajamas with the sleeves rolled up and the pants cuffed, her teeth brushed and face washed. “Really?” she asked incredulously. “These are much too big for me. The shirt goes halfway to my knees.”

Kyoya chuckled as he took in her overly large ensemble. “Well, at least I managed to find flannel pajamas. Could you imagine if you had to wear one of my sweatpants?”

Haruhi shuddered. “You’re right. Tighter-fitting flannel was a better choice. Still, it’s much too large.”

“I’m more than half a foot taller than you,” Kyoya replied, stating the obvious. He picked out a black t-shirt and grey sweatpants for himself. 

“Right,” she deadpanned as they stepped back into the bedroom. “Now, how do you want to tell Dad that you want me to spend the night at your place? He’ll kill you.”

Kyoya crossed his arms. “If I noticed how hard it was raining, he would have, too. He wouldn’t want you to go back home in this weather. In addition, he does trust me a lot more than the others.”

“That’s an understatement,” Haruhi mumbled. 

He effectively ignored this. “Hopefully he gives me a pass. Wish you the best of luck on your call.”

“Wait, I’m the one telling him?”

“He’d like it to hear it from you rather than me. I prefer to minimize any potential risks.” _He_ _would_ _most_ _certainly_ _ask_ _me_ _why_ _I_ _was_ _so_ _upset_ _on_ _Wednesday_. _Though_ _he_ _knows_ _about_ _my_ _disownment_ , _I_ _don’t_ _want_ _to_ _talk_ _to_ _him_ _until_ _I_ _figure_ _everything_ _out_. 

“Minimize any potential risks,” Haruhi echoed with a look of disbelief on her face before taking out her phone and calling Ranka. 

Kyoya pretended not to hear the crossdresser’s overly enthusiastic voice — Ranka was practically shouting through the phone — and instead went back in the closet to change. _I wish I had someone like Ranka as my father,_ he thought as he pulled his sweater, still slightly damp from Haruhi’s tears, over his head. 

When he was done, Haruhi was still talking to Ranka. He took the time to observe the wood grain of the teakwood floors, his eyes searching for patterns. This was a game he liked to play sometimes: finding patterns in the world around him. Finally, the two Fujiokas exchanged I love you’s and Haruhi hung up.

“Okay, he said that it is fine, but he will skin you alive if there is any funny business.”

Kyoya found the threat rather amusing. “Naturally. Now, would you like to test out my bed?”

Haruhi looked at the ginormous king-sized bed, which was covered in white bedsheets, many, many pillows, and a large weighted blanket. “It does look very comfortable,” she admitted. 

“It _is_ very comfortable, as I would know. This is the bed from my old room. Fuyumi managed to dismantle the frame and bring it over here along with everything that had been on it,” he informed her as he set his glasses on the nightstand. Lying down and setting the blanket over himself, he beckoned for Haruhi to join him.

Haruhi eagerly went to lie down next to him. Resting on her back, she sprawled her arms and legs and admired the softness of the bed. “Woah.” Kyoya laughed at her reaction and pulled her into his arms, nuzzling his head in the crook of her neck. “You are rather adorable sometimes when you are yourself, you know,” she said, returning the embrace. _Adorable? Not so fast, Fujioka._

“Do you want to be in my debt?” Kyoya asked with a very innocent smile.

She gave a faked gulp and then snorted. “No, not really.”

“Then I suggest you be very careful with your words.” Haruhi full-on laughed. 

“Thank you for tonight. It must have been hard for you to tell me those things about you. I know you did it to make me feel better.” She then paused and tensed a bit. “I think it’s a bit weird for me to be asking this right now, but I’ve been wondering about something for a while. Why did you choose me? Why trust me so much and fall in love with me? You could have anybody you wanted. Being so intelligent and ambitious, surely you would rather be with someone with more merit.” 

This surprised him. _Does she not understand how much she means to me?_ He gave a chaste kiss on her neck as his head was already resting there. “But there _is_ merit to being with a smart and — dare I say it — _adorable_ person like you, Haruhi. You are perfect in your imperfect way precisely because you are _you_.” 

Haruhi's skin burned, and he unconsciously smirked. “You mean merit in the abstract sense?”

His smirk grew. _And she calls_ me _adorable._ “Exactly. And what about you? What merit do you find in being with someone like me? I know that you don’t care about wealth and social status, so what do you see in me?”

Haruhi laughed. “You’ve _got_ to be kidding me. You are _you_ , Kyoya.”

Kyoya responded by raising his head and pulling her into a searing kiss, his arms moving down her back to bring her even closer. Haruhi met his ministrations with her own. Her body melded perfectly with his in such a way that made his heart stand still for a long moment before it suddenly beat at a frenetic pace that left him a little lightheaded. Burning lips played upon each other, the kisses deepening. 

“Whoa,” she breathed when they finally parted. She turned red with embarrassment when she realized that she had expressed her amazement out loud. “I need to stop with the woes.”

“Please don’t. It’s endearing,” Kyoya answered, barely managing to stifle a laugh. His own cheeks were slightly colored with the emotions coursing through him. _Whoa indeed. That felt wonderful._

Haruhi yawned. “I’m tired. Can we sleep now?” Kyoya chuckled and made sure Haruhi was all tucked in before he again put his arms around her. _Drowsiness is a result of aphrodisia, after all. Aphrodisia...Is that what that was?_ The thought made his face grow a bit warm.

“Good night, Haruhi.”

“Good night, Kyoya.”

He drifted off to sleep, lulled by the warmth of the person in his arms. Unfortunately, Fate had other plans.

_Fuyumi walked in to find a thirteen-year-old Kyoya painting a picture of a dove. He always painted when he felt upset about something, when he felt shackled by his family. He thought of painting as liberating, freeing. As gentle strokes colored the canvas, everything else seemed to fade away. Indeed, he could almost lose himself in the delicacy of the dove’s white feathers and forget about the events of that morning. Almost._

_“Wow. You know, Mother would have...”_

_Kyoya flinched at the past tense. “Please don’t finish that sentence. I know she loved art, too, but I don’t want to hear about her,” he responded, his focus never leaving the painting. He immediately bit the inside of his cheek to stop himself from saying anything else he might regret. It had been five years since he had last seen their mother. Determined to forget her, he never wanted to listen to stories about her. Especially not from Fuyumi, who greatly resembled her. If not for Fuyumi's wavy black tresses and more youthful face, Kyoya could have easily mistaken his sister for their mother. He, Fuyumi, and Yuichi had all gotten their father’s dark hair. Only Akito had inherited their mother’s chestnut brown hair._

_Fuyumi nodded, again turning her attention to the painting. “It is beautiful.”_

_“Thank you,” he replied, his tone more polite now._

_“Kyoya, listen to me.”_ _He did not acknowledge her statement._ “ _Kyoya,” she repeated, more firmly this time. “Did Father get mad at you again? He doesn’t hit you often, but you always act like this after he does.” Her face softened when his arm dropped to his side and he finally stopped painting to look at her. “Does it hurt anywhere? I can get you some Advil if you want.”_

_He dipped his paintbrush in a new color and started working on the dove’s eyes. “Not physically,” he answered with a frown. “Fuyumi, will you let me paint?” He then spent the entire evening alone in his room. After finishing the dove, he took another canvas and painted cherry blossoms._

_“Kyoya,” Yuichi called him. “Kyoya, come and have dinner. Kyoya...Kyoya...”_

But then it was Haruhi’s voice making its way into his mind. “Kyoya! Kyoya! Wake up! It’s okay!”

Kyoya jolted awake. _Thank god. Now I’m awake._

“You were crying and muttering something under your breath. It was...scary.” 

“Bad nightmare. I was dreaming of a time I painted a dove.” _What time is it?_ He sat up to look at the glowing numbers of his alarm clock. _5:00 am. No wonder it's fairly dark._

Haruhi’s doe eyes were wide with concern. “Do you always dream about the past?”

“Some of my dreams concern future events that I am anxious about, but most of them bring back certain memories. The thing is, I know I’m dreaming, but everything is so clear that I feel as if I’m reexperiencing the moment. My dreams are never really original or...dreamlike.”

Haruhi nodded, perfectly understanding. “Lucid dreams?”

His fingers ran through his hair. “In a way. Now can we go back to sleep?” _It’s five in the morning. I’m incredibly sleepy and am not about to start my day so early. Besides, when I’m asleep I won’t reveal anything new. I’ve already told her a lot about me. I have told her more than I intended to, at least._

The two again fell asleep, with Haruhi wrapped in Kyoya's arms, but then Tamaki’s annoying ringtone woke Kyoya up not even an hour later. _Why is the ringtone so loud? I suppose that it must be that obnoxious as I wouldn’t wake up otherwise, but seriously? And it’s the second morning this week that he has called me so early in the morning._ Haruhi, sounding peeved, told him to answer the phone as the blond would surely keep calling until he got a response. "I wonder what he wants now." 

Kyoya groaned his assent and got up to grab his phone. “What now, _Suoh_?" Kyoya asked, his voice dripping with venomous sarcasm.

 _“Kyoya! You have to come to Ouran again!”_ The sound of sobbing punctuated each word. The blond’s crying, lacking the faked drama that it usually had, woke Kyoya up as if it were a bucket of ice-cold water. 

“Tamaki, what happened?” he asked more calmly. _This can’t be good news. He usually never gets this upset._

 _“My father disbanded the Host Club. Again!”_ Tamaki sobbed.


	18. Operation Save the Host Club!

Kyoya's heart seemed to painfully skip a beat. _Not the Host Club. Please not the Host Club._ "What! No, that's impossible. He would never..." _Unless he was prompted to by another person, just like last time._ Kyoya's mouth ran dry. "Tamaki, please stay on the phone and try to calm down. I think I know what happened."

" _You do? Does that mean that you can fix this? THANK YOU, KYOYA! YOU'RE A GOD! HOORAY! MON AMI! MON AMI!"_ The over-the-top expression was obviously fake, Kyoya could tell. He rolled his eyes despite the intense shock he felt at hearing the news. After muting himself, he turned to Haruhi.

"Haruhi, could you get my laptop? I have a theory that I want to quickly check." He did not know how his voice could possibly sound so calm.

Haruhi quickly nodded, her own fatigue gone with the shocking news. Her brown eyes were suspiciously wet, but she, like him, seemed determined to stay calm and solve the issue. "I think it's somewhere here." She made her way to the desk and chair set up in the corner of the bedroom ("For late night studying," Fuyumi had told him shrewdly when asked why there was a mini workplace set up in his bedroom) before triumphantly picking up his laptop. "There we go."

He quickly searched for any new developments in the Ootori Group. As he had expected, news of his disownment was spreading like wildfire. But that was not what caught his attention. _Why did I not see this before?_

"Hmm. A new contract was signed between the Ootori Group and Suoh enterprises the morning after I was disowned. What do you make of this, Haruhi?"

Haruhi looked at his laptop from over his shoulder. "Do you think Ootori-san persuaded the chairman to disband the Host Club?" He nodded, pointing to a particular paragraph that detailed the terms of the deal.

"I know so. Look at this. Don't you think it is a bit odd that the Suohs seems to be benefiting more from this than the Ootoris?"

He could feel something click in Haruhi's mind. "Hey, you are right. That isn't his MO at all."

"Exactly. This means that he got something out of the deal that isn't necessarily part of the contract."

Haruhi's mouth opened wide. "In return for this deal, the chairman had to get rid of the Host Club. But why? The Host Club means so much to all of us! I can't believe Ootori-san would do that."

The same thought echoed in Kyoya's head. _How could he do such a thing? The Host Club means everything to me and the rest of the hosts. It can't end like this._ Tears threatened to fall, but he angrily brushed them away. "Unfortunately, that is something that my father would do, and it is _precisely_ what I think happened. That bastard." _How could he do such a thing? And the chairman never said anything about the deal when he called me on Wednesday. How could they?_

He suddenly found it difficult to breathe. The air was thick and heavy, crushing him. The little he could get into his lungs seemed to slice him from the inside. _Not again. Not again! Please calm down. Breath. Count like you normally do. Don't faint like you did last time._ His vision clouded as tears which he had tried so hard to keep at bay finally began to fall. Shuddering and whimpering ever so slightly, he buried his head in between his knees.

"Kyoya?" Haruhi asked, concerned. She moved so that she was now in front of him "Kyoya, please. We are going to save the Host Club. Everything will be fine. Breathe with me, okay?" The words barely registered in Kyoya's crashing mind, but he slowly nodded. "Come on, please? Inhale. One. Two..."

When Kyoya had finally calmed down, his panic turned to confusion. "I'm afraid that I have felt much more emotional than usual the past week. But how did you know what—"

"What to do? I used to be much more scared of thunderstorms. Are you tired? You must be."

He was, but that was not about to stop him from dealing with the problem at hand. Nodding in response to what Haruhi had said, Kyoya then picked up his phone (from which Tamaki's praise could still be heard) and unmuted himself so the blond could hear him. "Tamaki." No reply. "RENÉ!"

Tamaki finally stopped shouting. _"Yes, Kyoya? Are you coming?"_

"Yes. I'll be there in half an hour. I have to talk with the chairman." Cold fury underlined his definitive statement.

" _THANK YOU KYO-"_ Kyoya deadpanned and hung up.

Haruhi looked at him and was about to say something, but then changed her mind last minute. "What are you going to do? Yell at the chairman like last time? Break a few valuable items and end up getting hurt in the process?"

Kyoya grimaced, looking down at his hands. "I'll see." Haruhi gave a small smile, more sad than anything else. "The chairman has a meeting at 7:30 and likes to leave thirty minutes beforehand, so we need to get to Ouran as soon as possible."

"And how do you know he has a meeting at 7:30?" Haruhi sounded both impressed and annoyed.

Kyoya acted as if he had not heard the question. "He truly cares about the Host Club as he saw what it has done for Tamaki and the rest of us, so hopefully reminding him how important the club is will change his mind. He has to change his mind. As childish as it sounds, I cannot imagine the alternative."

Haruhi nodded. "I can't either. The Host Club is just so important for all of us that without it..." Her doe eyes brimmed with tears, and Kyoya gently wiped them away.

"Come on, let's go. Tachibana, Aijima, and Hotta had a day off yesterday as I was just preparing the penthouse, but they should be back. I'll tell them to drive us over there."

Soon they pulled up to Ouran Academy. "MOMMY! MY LITTLE GIRL! YOU MADE IT!" Tamaki greeted the pair at the entrance. Again, this was completely faked. Tear tracks covered Tamaki's face, and the blond's smile did not reach his eyes.

This brought back the anger and upset Kyoya had felt when he first learned of the news. "I know he's your father and the two of you love each other, but I will kill the chairman if he does not listen and let the Host Club meet. I will not let the club fall apart," he assured Tamaki, patting him on the shoulder. The hafu sniffed.

"Thank you, Kyoya," his best friend replied. Kyoya gave a thin-lipped smile.

"Where are Hikaru and Kaoru?" Haruhi asked. "Were they not able to make it?" _That's right. Where are the two troublemakers? Did they not care enough to come when the Host Club is in danger? Or is something wrong?_

Tamaki gave a hollow chuckle and explained that the twins were, in fact, at Ouran. "They are inside. Better stop them before they are arrested for assault and battery. I would have but I can't go inside. Not like this..." Tamaki gave a sniff for emphasis.

Kyoya patted him again and was about to head inside when Haruhi tugged at the sleeves of his pale blue blazer. "Kyoya, please let me go with you. I don't want the Host Club to end like this," she told him, echoing his thoughts from earlier. "I wanted to ask you before, but I knew you would say no then."

He stared at her in shock. For whatever reason, her determination always caught him off guard. "Haruhi..."

"Please?" She released her hold on him as tears began to stream down her face, and he bent down to wipe them away for the second time that morning.

"If you want to, you can." He gave her a gentle smile before turning to Tamaki. "Please don't worry, mon ami. I'll be back soon. Be optimistic, all right?" It was ironic considering Kyoya's own feelings, but it hurt him to see the blond look so devoid of hope.

"Thank you," Tamaki said again as he went to hug Kyoya and Haruhi.

"KYOYA-SENPAI!" Kaoru wailed when he saw him and Haruhi enter. "You're here! Thank god. Please go knock some sense into Milord's dad!"

A shock of brown hair registered in Kyoya's vision as Hikaru ran to join his brother. "Yeah! We wanted to use a baseball bat to knock some sense into him, but Tono said that we shouldn't do anything rash."

In a normal situation, Kyoya would have found comical the fact that Tamaki had been the one to tell Hikaru and Kaoru not to act rash and that Hikaru's words did not fit his tone at all (it was not exactly normal for someone to say that they wanted to bash a person's brains out in a very serious voice), but now he remained impassive. "Thank you guys for being patient," he replied, somehow managing to sound sarcastic and mildly amused.

Kyoya held his breath as he knocked on the door leading to Yuzaru's office. Beside him, Haruhi took his hand and gave a small squeeze of comfort.

"Come in," a deep, sonorous voice ordered them.

"Hello, chairman," Kyoya greeted as he and Haruhi stepped into the spacious room, sounding all too pleasant for how he was currently feeling.

"Ah, I thought you would come." The chairman propped a hand under his chin.

Kyoya then cut to the chase, his amiability gone out the window. "I know about the deal, though you clearly did not want me to know about it until it was too late. It's all over the news. Did you expect me to not find out?" Yuzuru pursed his lips at Kyoya's words. "Are you really going to let something like that cause the end of the Host Club?"

"Kyoya, look. Your father-"

 _Does he expect me to support such a deal between the Ootoris and Suohs?_ "He's not my father anymore," he snarled before continuing more calmly. "I am a businessman myself, chairman. Yet I am at a loss as to how you could possibly find the deal worthwhile." Suddenly, something clicked in his head. _Could the deal explain something else, too?_ Kyoya mentally shook the thought from his head. He would look into it more later. _I need to concentrate right now._

"But..."

"The terms are beneficial for the two of you, but a simple cost and benefit analysis would show that the contract is not worth it. Just the club alone overrides any benefit you may get from such a deal. Without the Host Club, Honey-senpai would still be in the Karate Club, doing his best to be someone he's not. Hikaru and Kaoru would be Kaoru and Hikaru and nobody would notice, and they would remain codependent and separated from the others. Haruhi would keep to herself and never ask for help." Beside him, Haruhi sniffed in acknowledgment. Yuzuru seemed to lose the ability to look at Kyoya and instead was staring at his desk as if he found the wood utterly fascinating. "Anne-san would still be in France, and Tamaki would still be hoping that one day, one day he'd see his family together. And I...I would remain trapped in the Ootori Group, any hope of ever achieving success the way I wanted to completely gone."

Yuzaru's hand moved back down from his chin and onto the mahogany table. "Kyoya, I'm sorry. I really am. This deal is too important." _Again? Does he want me to support his decision? I know that it might be difficult, but he has to make the right choice in the end._ Kyoya was about to lose it when Haruhi finally spoke.

"Is getting rid of the Host Club really worth what Ootori-san offered you? Even after all that the club has done for not only us but for you, too? Because of the Host Club, you are now married to Anne-san and your family all live together in the main mansion. We were willing to do anything to help your family get together, but you won't sacrifice a stupid deal?"

Kyoya again stared at Haruhi, stunned. Hearing the scholarship student reiterate Kyoya's point in such a manner seemed to awaken something in Yuzuru Suoh as well. The chairman's eyes widened, and he looked rather ashamed. "Fujioka-san, I-"

"Just think about it," she replied rather coldly before tightening her grip on Kyoya and leading him towards the door.

"Wait! I'll do it! I'll rescind the deal and let the Host Club meet again," Yuzaru told them.

Kyoya almost groaned in relief. _Thank god. I don't know what I would have done if he did not agree to rethink the deal._ "Thank you, chairman. I'll make it up for you somehow."

Instead of nodding, Yuzaru bowed in apology. "No need, Kyoya. This is the second time you confronted me and corrected my mistake. I am in your debt. Forgive me." He sighed. "You are a good person, and I wish you the best at Harvard. And you, Fujioka-san, are special. I consider it a boon that you got the opportunity to study here at Ouran."

Kyoya returned the bow. "Thank you for holding me in such high regard, chairman."

Next to him, Haruhi gave a somewhat clumsy bow, as if she were unsure of how to respond. "Yes, thank you, chairman. It has been an honor to attend Ouran, especially as I got to meet people such as Tamaki, Kyoya, and yourself."

"Thank _you_ ," Yuzaru said, gesturing them out of the office.

In the hallway, Kyoya quickly pulled her into an embrace. "Thank god." That was all he had to say. _Thank god._

She hugged him back. "I'm relieved, too. I don't know what any of us would have done if we did not have the Host Club anymore." They both leaned into a kiss.

"Okay, I guess we know whether you have good news or bad news," Hikaru suddenly interrupted them. Kyoya jumped and separated from her, quickly hiding his embarrassment under an icy, deadpan expression. Haruhi, on the other hand, just as quickly turned a bright scarlet. _Well, this is very cheesy._ The twins grinned evilly at their reactions.

Tamaki was sitting down on one of the benches outside the entrance. When he heard that the Host Club was again allowed to meet, he was elated. "KYOYA! YOU'RE A GOD! THE GREATEST GOD!" Kyoya responded by whacking him in the side of his head. "Oww..." The blond went to pout in the corner, and the twins followed with identical smiles.

Kyoya sat down on the bench and pulled out his laptop. "Haruhi, I think there is something else about the deal that I need to look at."

"Oh?"

He pulled up the article they had been reading that morning. "Look, read this again. Doesn't this also explain why my father wanted everyone to know I was disowned because I am going to Harvard? It says here that a condition of the deal is that the chairman let me and my siblings attend Ouran University. As Fuyumi and my brothers all attended Ouran University, I am the person whom this part of the deal hinges on. That fact alone makes the condition unclear and could thus be used to void the entire deal. The public could blame me for destroying a deal that could have benefited both the Suohs and the Ootoris. They would think of me as a selfish bastard who is only interested in doing what he wants and deserved what he got. Of course the deal is still valid, seeing that the chairman actually disbanded the Host Club, but the public wouldn't know about that condition."

"What kind of deal is this?" Haruhi asked indignantly. "This contract is ridiculous! Wait...But then when you confront him, won't it be obvious that the deal was still agreed upon? Then as the chairman decided to reject the deal and let the Host Club meet again, won't you again be blamed for ruining the deal? The public would say that you set aside your family for a high school club," Haruhi pointed out.

"You are correct, Miss Lawyer," he observed. "I am blamed either way. How wonderful." _I'm glad that my relationship with Haruhi is still not known to the public, because her reputation would have tanked as well. The way he went about his revenge is crude but effective. It seems that I really frustrated him. But why is he so upset about me going to Harvard? There must be something going on here._

She looked despondent. "Well, at least people at Ouran won't blame you."

He put his laptop aside. "You're right. People at Ouran won't feel that way about me, so don't feel bad. If others do blame me...It's my fault. I should not have confronted my father in that way."

She frowned and countered him. "It's not really your fault! You did not ask him to make a deal that would smear your name, and he shouldn't have gotten that angry."

"She's right, you know." Kyoya whipped his head around to find the familiar face of Akito Ootori. His muscles suddenly tensed. "Fujioka-san is quite brilliant despite being only a commoner. Interesting choice for a girlfriend. You could do better though."

Haruhi was about to say something, but Kyoya motioned for her to stop. "Akito? What are you doing here?"

"I heard about what happened with the Host Club and decided to come here. Look, I wanted to apologize and make things up to you, little brother. I was extremely rude to you the last time we talked..."

Kyoya put on the fakest smile he could. "You were drunk. It's okay." _Not really, but how do I tell him that? He is an Ootori, after all, and maintaining some sort of relationship with him would be beneficial for me. Wait, did he say that he wanted to make things up to me?_

Akito shook his head. "No, it's not. Father always put so much pressure on you to succeed because you were so capable, and all I did was make it worse. And then when you were disowned, I called you the next morning and upset you even more."

At this, Kyoya nodded. It was nice to hear Akito be kind and relatively emotional for once, though he had to wonder what brought on this change in attitude. _Was it really just what I said during the phone call? And what did he mean by saying that he wanted to make things up to me?_ "You always were quite a jerk."

Akito put back on his mask of emotional indifference, a reaction in its own right to Kyoya's statement. "Yes, I was rude. I decided that I would help you by telling the press the truth about your disownment."

 _Thank you, Akito._ "All right. But will you answer a question honestly for me?"

Akito stiffened. "Go ahead."

"Why is he so upset about me going to Harvard? It can't just be that I do not want to go into the medical field and eventually run the Ootori Group."

Akito just stared at Kyoya, something that Kyoya himself liked to do when he was surprised by someone's ignorance. "You don't know, do you?"

"Know what?" Kyoya asked carefully.

"Mother also went to Harvard."

Haruhi gasped beside him, but Kyoya could not get himself to react. "Did she?"

"Yes. She studied astrophysics there. When I think about it, you two are very similar in many ways, though you like to act like Father. No wonder she adored you when she lived with us and has been asking about you lately." It suddenly hit Akito that he had said something he was not supposed to say, and he quickly covered his mouth with his hand.

Kyoya froze. "What do you mean? How do you know she has been asking about me?" Akito did not respond, and Kyoya's voice grew low and dangerous. "Akito..."

Akito uncharacteristically squeaked. "I'm sorry, Kyoya! Yuichi, Fuyumi, and I sometimes visit her. Fuyumi insisted that you not go because you were always...You know...She..."

Haruhi flinched as if understanding what was about to go down. "So nobody told me anything?" Kyoya practically growled. The school bell suddenly came to Akito's rescue. _Dammit._ The conversation over, Akito made his way to his car, escaping Kyoya's wrath.

"Kyoya?" Haruhi asked hesitantly as the hosts and the rest of the students filtered into Ouran Academy.

Kyoya flashed a cheesy smile. "I'll be fine. See you in the afternoon."

Haruhi seemed to think otherwise, but decided not to press upon the subject. "Yes, see you then. We have a cosplay to do, after all." She sighed. "I think we both need some time to process everything that happened this morning." She then grumbled something about not being able to eat breakfast and prepare her usual bento lunch. 

Kyoya gave her a small but true smile before heading off to his first class. _Better buy her lunch later. She's probably starving. At least I am used to skipping breakfast every once in a while. What I_ could _use is some coffee._ As he took his seat, he began to plan his next move in the game of chess he and Yoshio Ootori were now playing. The Ootori patriarch may have made the first move, but the game was far from over. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Please leave kudos and a comment so I know what you guys think of the story! I am new to AO3 so it would be really nice to get to know all of you guys! While I work on the next chapter, I would love to read and respond to your comments.


	19. Game Theory

By the time class had begun, Kyoya had a plan. Still, something bothered him. As his teacher lectured about competitive game theory and Nash equilibrium, he could not stop himself from thinking about what Akito had revealed to him. _Should I be mad at Fuyumi? No, I was not ready to meet_ her _. If I had been ready, then I would have just looked her up in the Ootori Group databases and found where she was staying, but every time I tried I could not get myself to type her name. I could not even listen to stories about her without getting upset. No, I'm mad that the_ others _went, that I did not know that while_ he _initially did not allow us to visit her, he let us see her after a while._ He sighed and paused to take notes and draw a payoff matrix for the situation the class was supposed to be analyzing.

_But why did Akito make the mistake of telling me this in the first place? It's so strange. It's not like Akito to make such an error. And why did he have a sudden change of heart? I never thought that he would help me, yet he came all the way to Ouran to talk to me._

Suddenly he felt movement in front of him. "You okay, Kyoya?" Tamaki whispered, turning around and handing him a light blue travel mug decorated with the Ouran emblem and filled with coffee. The dark beverage gave off a rather delicious and enticing aroma. _Coffee. I wonder why I didn't smell it before._ "I went to the cafeteria and got you some before class. I was going to give it to you earlier, but the coffee was too hot and you seemed rather deep in thought. Planning something?"

Kyoya gave a terse, grateful nod before taking a sip and focusing his attention back on the teacher's lecture. _Could it be possible that Fuyumi had told him to help me out with the situation and then "accidentally" let slip that they visited our mother. That would explain why he acted so childishly when he revealed the information. What is Fuyumi thinking? Maybe she thought that it was time I found out about my mother and go visit her. Am I ready now? I don't know...I really don't know...Maybe I'll talk to her about this the next time I see her._

The rest of the school day went by in a similar blur, as Kyoya mulled over his thoughts instead of paying attention to his surroundings as he normally would. For any other person, this would have been a near-fatal mistake, but Kyoya's diligent notes saw no notable drop in quality ("But you weren't even paying that much attention!" Tamaki had told him indignantly when he caught sight of Kyoya's notes). Lunch had been torture, however. Haruhi, who had eagerly accepted the lunch that Kyoya had bought for her, disappeared to eat in an empty classroom as she usually did, meaning that he could not distract himself by conversing with her. With no lecture or assignment to keep himself busy, either, he went through lunch in a daze. He did not miss much by not listening to Tamaki's babbling, but it was still frustrating.

Kyoya almost sighed out loud in relief when it was time for the Host Club to meet. As he stepped into the music room, his thoughts seemed to fade away in favor of focusing on managing the club, a transition that was completed with a change in costume. His inner Shadow King smiled happily as the clients filtered in. _Time to make some money. I'm glad we went with a French Polynesia cosplay._

"Kyoya-kun, you look so good! How are you? We missed you and the others so much the last two days! I suppose it was because of you that the club was closed?" a client asked, her brown curls swinging wildly as she practically bounced. _Of course, showing some skin is always popular with the ladies. Unless it's Haruhi...Dammit, I'm thinking of her again. I cannot let others know the truth about us yet. It would prove detrimental to our profits._

"Ah, yes, it was. Though it was a mess, I'm fine now." _I'm sure that they are only worried about me because I am_ me _, but I might as well admit that the situation was a bit difficult if it gets the fangirls riled up._

"I can't believe you're going to Harvard. You're so smart," another client gushed.

He internally scoffed. _Enthusiastic fangirls. Why is it so easy to get them excited?_ "Thank you. Would you like some tea?"

"Of course! Might as well enjoy being served tea by you before you leave!" The girls took out a handkerchief to dab their suddenly wet eyes.

He poured tea for both himself and his two clients. "Don't worry," he said, taking a sip and setting the cup down on the table. "Haruhi and the Hitachiins will do a good job running the Host Club when Tamaki and I graduate." He took out his notebook with a particularly sweet smile on his face. "Why don't you ladies sign up for the dance they will have in the fall?" _The Host Club always has a dance in the fall, though I don't think Haruhi and the Hitachiins would be too happy that I'm already having people sign up for it. Oh well, as long as it brings in some profit._

"Ooooh! Of course!" They eagerly took their pens and signed their names.

"KYO-CHANNNNN ~ " Honey cutely called out as he suddenly swooped in on Kyoya. Honey's fangirls began to squeal about how cute the lolita looked. Setting down his notebook, Kyoya noted the relative lack of cakes on Honey's table. The lolita knew very well where the snacks were kept, though, so that could not be the true reason why Honey came to him. This was all an act, Kyoya decided before he played along for his own amusement.

"What is it, Honey-senpai? Ran out of snacks?" he asked shrewdly.

Honey pouted. "Hey! I wanted you to guess what I came to you for. You weren't supposed to know the answer! You're no fun..." Fake loli tears began to well up in his eyes. _Of course._

Mori walked up to them. "Mitsukuni, be nice."

"Takashi! I want some cake!" He clung to Mori and climbed the silent host as if he were a mountain.

"Let's go get cake," Mori replied concisely as Honey dangled from his neck. The two and their squealing fangirls then made their way to the back room to get more food.

Kyoya looked down at his watch and then back up at his own clients. "Unfortunately the allotted time is up. Farewell, ladies. I'll be waiting for the next time we meet!"

The girls enthusiastically wished him goodbye and filtered out the room. He spent the rest of the hour observing the other hosts and taking notes in his black notebook. All too soon the last of the clients filtered out the double doors. The hosts changed out of their cosplays and began to depart. Soon it was only Kyoya and Haruhi left in the music room. _She stayed behind once again._

Desperate not to let his mind wander the way it had during classes (and the way it normally did after the other hosts had left), he pulled out his laptop and started working on the Host Club budget. Haruhi, meanwhile, silently began to clean the dishes.

He was taking out his notebook so he could double check some of the values in the spreadsheet when Haruhi finally spoke. "What a mess this day has been."

Kyoya nodded, his focus still on writing in his notebook with a distractingly loud sound. _Scritch. Scritch._ "What a mess," he echoed rather vacantly. 

Haruhi, apparently determined to capture his attention, set down the cup she was cleaning and continued. "Sigh. It was not the Friday morning I was expecting." She nervously ran her fingers through her hair, a habit that she must have picked up from him. He certainly did not remember her doing it before. It was rather... _cute_ in a way.

His heart warmed at this small detail, and he chuckled. "Indeed."

"Have you had time to study for your final exams at all? They are next week, you know."

 _Oh god. How could I forget?_ "Well, I started studying for them a month back, but I have not had time this week to study for them. I've mainly been focusing on getting my schoolwork done and then trying to handle everything else going on."

Haruhi nodded. "Yeah, I didn't study as much as I wanted this week, either."

He cringed. "Sorry. You should not have to shoulder my problems and help me simply because you are my girlfriend."

Haruhi glared at him. "I said I wanted to be there for you, and that won't change. Both of us aren't the romantic type, so we would never work out if we won't at least be there for each other."

 _She's right._ If he were Tamaki, he might have sniffed and rather dramatically shown how touched he was by the statement. _I would give her a bone crushing hug, at the very least._ The thought made him smile somewhat, but then he stood up and swooped in behind Haruhi so that his breath tickled against her neck, a dangerous smirk on his face. "That's true. We will be there for each other, love."

"Stop that!" she said, laughing and turning around to swat at him with her arms. _Cute._ When she had calmed down again, she went back to cleaning the cup. Still standing behind her, he went back to writing in his notebook.

"Are you upset at her?"

"Hmm?" His pen scratched the paper. _Scritch. Scratch._

"Are you upset at Fuyumi-san? After what Akito-san said..."

He shut his notebook with a satisfying _snap_. "I think in the past I would have been, but now...All I can say is that I understand, that I don't mind not being allowed to go. I simply wasn't ready to meet my mother in the first place. I am just a bit upset that they were going _without_ telling me and letting me know that we were finally allowed to see her." Seeing her confused face, he explained further. " _He_ initially did not let us visit her after she left, but I could have found out where she was staying quite easily if I had bothered searching through the Ootori Group databases. I didn't. Fuyumi often wants to tell me stories about her. I told her not to. What do you think I would have done if Fuyumi had taken me with her to visit her?"

Now she understood. "So you agree with her and feel that it was for the best?"

He nodded. "I think it was." _She was doing what was best for both me, herself, and everyone around us._

"Are you going to visit her sometime soon?" She was not talking about Fuyumi, he knew.

He mulled over this, and then the answer appeared so clearly in his mind that he was surprised by the confidence. "Yes."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave a comment and kudos! I'd love to hear from you guys!


	20. Kyoya Makes His Move

"Hello, Kyoya Ootori," Hayato Hitachiin greeted as he took a sip of tea and motioned for Kyoya to sit in the chair across from him. Usually such business meetings did not happen over afternoon tea, but Hayato had insisted that they have a more informal meeting. "You wanted to ask about taking over my company? Even if I did not know you, and even though you have been disowned by your father, I would say that you are rather overqualified. Are you sure you don't want something greater?"

Kyoya flashed a charming smile as he sat down. "I wouldn't say that I'm overqualified, Hitachiin-san. I'm rather interested in your company." He picked up a cup and took a sip of tea but immediately put it back down as it was sickeningly sweet. _It was chamomile, one of my favorites, too. How unfortunate._

Hayato, not seeming to notice Kyoya's distaste for the tea, looked elated at what he had said. Kyoya hid his smirk by biting into a rather delicious blueberry scone. _That's more like it._ "Do you have plans as to what you wish to do with the company? Naturally, I can't promise anything unless I know what you wish to do with it."

Kyoya's smile was effervescent, sweeter than the tea that Hayato Hitachiin was still drinking. _How does one even drink tea with that much sugar and honey? Unless we are talking about Honey-senpai, I don't think that it is possible._ "Of course. I have a proposal written already." He handed him a file, and Hayato began to flip through the papers. A rather nerve-wrecking few minutes passed, punctuated only by the sound of paper being flipped. _I stayed up all night writing it. He better find it satisfactory._

Finally, Hayato looked up and addressed him. "Rather well thought out and ambitious. So you plan on moving the base of operations of my company to America and combining it with some of the business ventures you have planned? Are you certain that you will manage to accomplish all of this?"

After hearing what Hayato had said, Kyoya exhaled out of relief. He had not realized till then that he had been holding his breath while Hayato delivered his judgement. _Better than what I had expected._ He mulled over the question for a moment. The true plan was to combine the company with a _bit_ more than _just_ his planned business ventures, but Kyoya preferred to keep that under wraps for the time being. "Yes, I am fairly confident that it is possible. It will take some work, but I will do my best to make it happen." His glasses glinted ominously as if to emphasize this statement.

Hayato sighed. "All right, then. It's yours. I just need you to sign a bunch of contracts. I would be more than happy to hand over my company right now. I've been looking to turn over management of my company as soon as I could, actually. I think I would be better off assisting my wife with her fashion business." _Of course, the IT department of Yuzuha Hitachiin's fashion business is fairly impressive._

Kyoya's smile grew even bigger, and he picked up another scone. "Oh? So soon? That's a surprise." _Not really, as I did some research before coming here._

"Yes, I've actually been waiting for an opportunity like this. However, if you have other plans..."

"Oh, I don't mind taking control of your company right now, but won't it be strange if a teenager becomes the CEO of a company? I'm not even an adult yet." _At least not in Japan._ As he had already built the identity "K.O." to hide his true age, Kyoya could not care less, but he still wanted to point it out to Hayato.

"Well, you are much more capable than most adults I know. I'm sure you'll do great things in such a position. But you bring up a good point. How do _you_ plan on hiding your age?"

Kyoya grinned. _Good, he does not care._ "Oh, that won't be a problem. I was just worried that you forgot that I was still a teenager. Just give me the forms and I'll sign them." Hayato obliged, and Kyoya filled out and signed each of the papers he was given, his glasses glinting again as he scrawled "K.O." in a looping cursive over and over.

"Very well, K.O.," Hayato as he read the forms Kyoya handed him back. "Naturally, I will not give you full rein until you graduate with an MBA, but you are now the CEO of my company. I will show you the ins and outs of the company once you graduate from Ouran."

"Okay," Kyoya replied with carefully modulated excitement. He picked up a third scone and finally got up. "Thank you for everything, sir."

"Thank _you_." Kyoya could not help but smirk as he turned around and left the mansion. _All thanks to the fact that I am secretly K.O. Phase one complete. Time for phase two. If you want a game of chess, Yoshio Ootori, then that is exactly what you will get._

His satisfaction did not remain unnoticed as he stepped into the awaiting car. "You seem to be happy, master. Did your meeting with Hitachiin-sama go well?" Hotta asked as if confused by his master's uncharacteristically good mood. Kyoya hummed in agreement before biting into his scone.

He did not miss the fleeting grin Hotta tried to hide. Kyoya was reminded of Ranka's reaction when Kyoya finally talked to him after he went to Haruhi's apartment to drop her off yesterday after school, though _that_ smile had been mostly out of pity. "What?" Kyoya asked Hotta, sounding somewhat irritable as his joy faded and his normal temperament returned. _Why is Hotta happy about all this?_ He certainly was not happy when he thought about how much he had left to do this weekend, with final exams coming up and with all the plans he wanted to execute.

"Oh, nothing." Kyoya frowned.

They pulled up at the apartment complex Kyoya was staying in. He had entered the building and was about to step into the elevator when a recognizable voice suddenly called out his name.

"Yuichi?" Kyoya sighed as the elevator doors shut and the empty elevator made its way up to the other floors. _Great._

"I said I'd call you, but I was passing by and decided to pay a visit instead," Yuichi suavely explained. His voice was as emotionless as usual, though it did not lack concern.

"Why?" Kyoya asked. What he really wanted to ask was why Yuichi was always so concerned about him in his own cold and detached way, but he was afraid that that would be too forthcoming.

"I know about what father almost did to the Host Club, that's why." The words would have seemed impatient and condescending coming from anyone else, but Yuichi had a talent of making anything sound pleasant, a talent which Kyoya had picked up and used regularly for his own benefit.

"Okay, then. If that is all then I must insist that you go to wherever you were headed," Kyoya told him just as pleasantly.

"Kyoya, please don't make this difficult. We both know why I want to check on you. Besides the fact that you did not seem to have much sleep the past two or three days, is there anything bothering you? Have you felt like hur—"

"No," Kyoya answered, cutting him off. It was not to be rude as much as shorten the conversation. He was desperate to go to his penthouse and start working. "Nothing's bothering me except for the fact that literally nobody told me that you guys were visiting Mother."

Yuichi paled, but then he adjusted his glasses and was stoic once more. "How do you know about that? Is that why you are upset with me?"

"I'm not exactly upset at you," Kyoya answered slowly. "How is she?"

Yuichi stood there in silence before finally replying. "Well, she has felt fine for a long while now, but she decided to stay there for the time being. I don't think...I don't think she is coming back, Kyoya. Even if she decides to leave the hospital, she won't return to live with Father."

Kyoya shook his head. "After so many years, I don't think she would ever come back, either. Nothing different than what I expected, really."

Yuichi nodded and then heaved a sigh. "Kyoya, about Father almost succeeding in disbanding the Host Club, I beg you to consider if whatever retaliation you have planned fits the crime. What Father did is not worth destroying him completely. Such revenge would only satisfy you temporarily. Don't act childishly."

 _He does not even have to ask whether I have something planned or not. He already knows I am set in that aspect. I think that he_ wants _me to get some sort of revenge. Is he unhappy with how I was treated?_ Kyoya nodded in agreement with Yuichi's advice. "Of course. Such devastating revenge would only serve to inconvenience me in the long run. I don't intend to act childishly and do whatever I can to ruin him. I have something far better in mind."

Yuichi gave him a tiny smile. "All right, then. I better get going. I'm going to be late for my meeting and my wife will get upset."

 _But his wife does not go to the meetings. Accident or not, there was no need to bring her up in that context. And then there was that smile..._ "Is there a reason you brought up your wife?"

He blinked twice, betraying slight embarrassment. "Oh, I did not even realize that I mentioned her. I was just thinking about her, so I automatically roped her into what I said." He paused, as if considering whether or not he should explain further. "She's pregnant, so it is natural for me to worry."

 _Crap. I never know what to say in a situation like this. It's so much easier when the person is not close to me, but it's him..._ "She's pregnant? Congratulations, I suppose."

"Thank you. Call me if you need anything, whether the reason is medical or otherwise, okay?" Yuichi waved goodbye as he made to exit the complex, just like he used to do every morning before going to Ouran when Kyoya was little. Kyoya unconsciously and rather awkwardly waved back as he recalled Yuichi's goodbyes. _Huh. He really does care about me, doesn't he?_

Shaking himself out of his reverie, Kyoya went back into the elevator and up to his penthouse, where he spent the rest of the day studying and making initial preparations for the second and most ambitious part of his plan (read: he typed furiously on his laptop for hours on end while listening to music and barely acknowledging Tachibana's attempts to get him to keep hydrated and get him to eat some food).

The next day, Yoshio Ootori would wake up to find that his business assets in America had been bought by none other than the anonymous student investor K.O. _Game. Set. Match. Let's see who wins this, Yoshio._


	21. Love and Cooking

By the time Monday's exams were over, Kyoya wanted nothing more than to sleep. He could have, considering that students were allowed to go home after their last exam of the day. Unfortunately, after leaving Kyoya just enough time to change and enjoy his afternoon tea, Tamaki had dragged the entire Host Club to his penthouse to do some "planning." Naturally, this meant that Tamaki and the twins wreaked havoc while Kyoya and Haruhi watched in horror and Honey and Mori had their own mini tea party.

"I'm going to get a headache if they continue like this," Kyoya muttered darkly to Haruhi, who nodded in understanding. "I just need an opportunity..." _Come on. The amount of manipulation I need to use to control these guys is getting ridiculous._

"To do what?" Haruhi asked, her brows arched in question. He only smirked in reply, his way of asking her to wait and see.

Suddenly, the opportunity presented itself in the shape of a blond idiot who was about to run past him. Kyoya carefully stuck out his leg in his path, and a dramatic scene unfurled in three acts. Tamaki, somehow moving in slow-motion, fell face-first onto the floor and continued his fit — a tantrum if one is to be precise, as the blond was strangely reminiscent of an upset toddler in the way he flailed his arms and legs. As Kyoya had planned, Tamaki appeared to have no idea that it was he who had tripped him. Hikaru and Kaoru, not aware as to what had just happened, continued running and then tripped over Tamaki. Honey ran to help them, forgetting about the cup of tea in his hand, which Tamaki accidentally kicked and upset all over Honey's pink shirt.

Haruhi deadpanned as this all unfolded. "Kyoya, really?"

Kyoya, ignoring this, clapped his hands to catch the hosts' attention. "All right, playtime is over. We need to talk about the plans for the event we will have during graduation."

"Can't we just do a fancy cosplay?" the twins asked as they got up and brushed invisible dust off of their sweaters.

"NO!" Tamaki shouted, stumbling to his feet. "I, the Host Club King, require a much more extravagant celebration than just a cosplay!"

"Tama-chan!" Honey wailed as the shock of having his shirt soiled finally left him. "You got tea all over my clothes!"

"Guys, will you shut up?" Kyoya asked with a deceptively sweet smile, his relatively quiet voice still carrying above the ruckus. The others sweatdropped and quieted down. "Okay, now that I have all of your attention, I have a suggestion to make. How about we do another masquerade dance? The one we had before going to Boston was a success. The clients adored it, and profits were high. We can assume that we would make even more this time, considering that Tamaki and I are graduating." There were mixed reactions.

"Penny-pinching merchant!" the twins and Haruhi growled. However, he could tell that she was joking and that she was fine with the actual idea itself.

Tamaki and Honey, on the other hand, sparkled in delight. _As expected._ "OH! That's PERFECT!" Tamaki squealed. "We can have the finest clothes and masks designed for us. Why don't Hikaru and Kaoru surprise us with the designs?"

"Yeah!" Honey agreed, his voice even higher than normal in excitement.

"But Milordddd..." the twins whined.

"The president has spoken," Kyoya said warningly, his voice dropping to a croon.

"I actually would not mind a masquerade dance," Haruhi finally piped in, her lips cutely pursed in thought. Everyone except for Kyoya looked at her in surprise.

"ALLL RIGHTTTTTT! MASQUERADE DANCE HERE WE COMEEEE!" the twins yelled in unison, almost immediately changing their minds. Kyoya and Haruhi both deadpanned as Tamaki joined the two, completing the Idiot Trio™.

"So, while I like the idea of the dance, we are all at the mercy of Hikaru and Kaoru, then. The designs are going to be a surprise," Haruhi addressed him, deciding that it was best to ignore the shenanigans for the time being (as Honey and Mori were so adept at doing).

"I suppose. Tamaki insisted, and like it or not, he's the president." Kyoya took out his notebook to quickly scribble some estimates regarding the budget for the dance.

"But you know Hikaru and Kaoru will dress us all up as if we were their toys, right?" There was no mistaking the irritation in her voice.

"I am aware," Kyoya replied, still writing in his notebook. Meanwhile, the trio was still running around the penthouse. _If they break anything, they are dead meat._

Haruhi sighed, and he wondered for a moment whether or not he had said that particular thought out loud. "Well, what about you? How were the exams you took today? I think mine went well, but I can't be sure."

"The exams were fine. I just had English and Physics today, so it was not too bad."

"Right." She nodded in acknowledgement. "How about Fuyumi? Have you talked to her yet?"

He shook his head and finally looked up from his book. "I talked with Yuichi on Saturday, though."

"Oh?"

He was about to reply when Honey interrupted him. "Kyo-chan?" the lolita called out from his mini tea party. "Did you really take the assets Ootori-san has in America _and_ become the CEO of Hitachiin-san's software company?"

"WHAT!?" Haruhi exclaimed. "You-"

"I did, Honey-senpai," Kyoya answered, his tone more bland and standoffish than what the situation probably called for. Haruhi seemed to be having a mini breakdown at this news, while Honey became more perky than normal.

"That's so cool!" Honey said as he stuffed a large piece of cake into his mouth.

"You..." Haruhi spluttered. He raised his eyebrow. "You did that?"

"Of course. I just said I did. Didn't you hear me?" He wished they were alone so he could properly talk to her about all of it, but that would be impossible at the present moment. The twins and Tamaki were doing who-knows-what wherever they were in the penthouse, and Honey and Mori were still listening in.

"You are _insane_ , in a good way. Or something like that," she told him.

He could not help himself from chuckling. "I'll consider that as a complement, then." As much as he loved pulling stunts on unsuspecting, but not necessarily innocent, victims (in this case, his father), he loved seeing the hosts' reaction to said stunts even more. He still remembered how Tamaki had practically evaporated when he learned after the Ouran fair about the whole K.O, Ootori Group, and Grand Tonnere business. _I wonder when_ he _will respond to what I have done. Is he waiting till graduation?_

His thoughts were interrupted by Haruhi's voice. "If that's settled, can we finally be a normal couple again? We had like one nice date before all hell broke loose."

Kyoya laughed before leaning down to kiss her. "I don't think it's completely settled, and we have spent quite a lot of time at each other's places, but I definitely want to maintain some sort of normalcy and go on another, more official date with you. Maybe sometime this weekend, love?"

She turned beetroot red. "Okay," she finally agreed. "That sounds great! Can I surprise you this time?"

He thought about this for a second and then shrugged. "Hikaru and Kaoru are going to surprise us with our outfits, it's hard to predict what Tamaki's mind theater will come up with for the dance, and _he_ still needs to respond to what I have done with his American assets. I suppose I can take one more surprise."

"They're cute, ne?" Honey turned and asked Mori, who then gave a silent nod. Haruhi blushed an even darker red.

Kyoya gave a soft smile and looked down at his hands. The cuts were still healing, though they looked much better than they had before. _What would I do without the Host Club? These last few days alone have been more than I would usually be able to bear._

This sentiment was short-lived, as Tamaki then ran into the room, carrying large pieces of what had once been a decorative statue of a cat (don't ask...Fuyumi had gifted it to him on his birthday a few years back). The twins, meanwhile, were cowering behind a couch. "I was jumping around in the living room and I accidentally knocked it over!" the blond wailed, holding out the pieces. Kyoya simply stared at them before finally reacting.

"You are so _dead_ , Tamaki."

Of course, he was not that sentimental as to mourn the loss of such a strange little statue, but Kyoya really needed an excuse to kick all the hosts (except for Haruhi) out of his penthouse. Kyoya quickly took advantage of Tamaki's mishap, and soon he was finally alone with Haruhi.

"You don't care that much about the statue being broken, do you?" Haruhi asked shrewdly.

"Nope," he answered with an elegant shrug before looking at his watch. "Would you like me to make you some food? It's almost time for dinner. I would have Aijima prepare dinner, but I'm afraid that he is out running some errands for me along with Hotta."

"You can cook?" She appeared incredulous.

"It's the one commoner thing I _can_ do. I usually never cook though, because back in the Ootori mansion, the chef took care of meals. Now I have Aijima to cook for me. Even if he weren't here, I don't eat that much, so I would rather have a cup of coffee and an energy bar or something rather than cook a full meal."

Haruhi looked intrigued. "Interesting. You can't figure out how to use a laundry machine, but at least you can cook, apparently."

He recalled that the afternoon they were setting up the penthouse, he had tried to use his laundry machine and had failed miserably. "Haruhi, really?"

"I had to point that out, okay?" she said defensively. "Would you cook something for me? I'm rather interested. I won't be able to stay for too long after that, though. I planned on doing some last minute review for my exams tomorrow."

Soon breadsticks were taken out of the fridge and were warming in the oven and pasta was boiling on the stove. As he made a light alfredo sauce in a small pot and chopped up various vegetables for a quick garden salad, he thought about how to begin the long story of what he had done during the weekend. Finally, after almost fifteen minutes of relative silence, he spoke. "So, I spoke with Hitachiin-san on Saturday, and he agreed to let me be the CEO of his company. It's quite exciting, if I am to be honest."

"At the age of eighteen?" Haruhi asked incredulously as she observed him cook from her perch on the massive kitchen island, her legs dangling off the edge. He usually would not have condoned such behavior, but for some reason he was warmed by the fact that she was acting so comfortably and contently around him.

"Well, K.O. is still somewhat anonymous. Seeing that he let me sign the contracts using that identity..." His sentence trailed off as he added some chicken he had cut up into the pasta.

"And what about Ootori-san's business assets in the US?" Haruhi's eyes were wide with curiosity.

Kyoya smirked. "I bought them as K.O. This time, I don't plan on giving them back."

"Well, at least you did not buy out the entire Ootori Group again."

"Haruhi, I didn't want to completely destroy him, as initially satisfying as that would be. I just wanted to get some sort of revenge."

"You sure love your revenge, Shadow King," she said with a laugh. "However, I do think that Ootori-san deserved that after he disowned you and then attempted to ruin your reputation."

Kyoya snorted as he stirred the pasta. "Why else would I have done it? Normally, I'm not so petty or harsh when it comes to getting my revenge, but I really needed to do something of that magnitude if I want to show him that I can play at his level."

"Okay, moving on..." Haruhi deadpanned. "You said that you talked with Yuichi?"

He paused. "He stopped by right when I came back after my meeting and asked me how I was doing." He did not look up from the pasta as he said this, afraid that he might cry if he looked up at her. "He's a really nice person, despite his exterior. I kind of miss when we were little and spent time together." _I can't believe that he and his wife will be having a child soon...Time passes by so quickly._

Haruhi nodded. "You know, he's a lot like you. When you were brought to my apartment that evening after you had fainted and Yuichi-san came to check on you, he seemed really worried. His hands shook as he checked your vitals and bandaged your hands. His words were rather icy, but he really cares about you." She bit her lip. "Fuyumi-san was there as well, of course, but she became hysterical so Yuichi-san tried to calm her down and then sent her home. _She's_ a lot like Tamaki, I think."

Kyoya blinked away the tears that were beginning to cloud his vision. "They always have cared about me. Even Akito cares about me in his own way, despite the fact that he acts so rudely sometimes. It was thanks to him that the truth about what had happened between me and Ootori-san came out." _Ootori-san...It feels so weird to call him that._ Hot tears began to stream down his face, and he let go of the wooden cooking spoon he was stirring the pasta with to wipe the tears with his sleeve.

Haruhi quickly got down from the island and grabbed a tissue before going to comfort him. She gently coaxed his arm away from his face so that she could properly wipe his tears with the tissue. "Don't cry, Kyoya. It's going to be fine, okay?" He nodded and took the tissue from her to finish wiping his tears.

"I'm a mess," he admitted. "I hate feeling so emotional. A lot has happened, and I just..."

"It's okay. Thanks for talking to me about all this, Kyoya. I know it's difficult for you to open up, so I appreciate it when you do. Like I told you before, I like it when you are yourself."

 _I...She...Why is she so sweet?_ Kyoya sniffed. "I like to process things by myself and talk only when I really feel like it. I suppose I want to let you into my life, though. You are always so straightforward and so open with your emotions that it feels nice to talk with you about everything." 

Haruhi flushed crimson. "Emotions are a struggle for me as well, but I try to express them the best way I can. The key is to not care about what other people think. If someone really likes you, then they would like you for yourself and not your fake self." _That's something...I can't argue with that..._ He inhaled sharply and stared at her, a reaction that only served to make her even more nervous. She quickly changed the subject. "Okay, is the food almost done yet? I lost track of where you were in your cooking."

He tossed the tissue in a nearby trash can and at last regained his composure. "Yes, I just need to add the sauce to the pasta and then everything is finished."

"It smells really good. If someone told me last month that you would end up cooking Italian food for me, I would have said that they were crazy, but here we are."

Finally, they were sitting under Kyoya's kotatsu (Fuyumi had brought it over from his old room, insisting that it was too important to not have it in his penthouse), enjoying the surprisingly delicious meal. "It's not bad," Kyoya said, trying some of his pasta. "I haven't cooked in a while, so it's nice to see that I somewhat succeeded."

Haruhi, meanwhile, was stuffing her face with pasta. "This is amazing! I've never had Italian food before, but it's so good! Between you and me, we could cook such great food."

Kyoya smiled as he bit into a breadstick. "I'm a person of many talents, I suppose."

Haruhi almost choked on her mouthful of pasta at this statement, and his smile turned into a smirk. "Do you have to put it like that? Ugh, you egotistical bastard."

"I don't think I've told you this before, but you are rather cute when you're embarrassed."

Haruhi pouted and flushed crimson, but then a lightbulb seemed to go off in her head. "Do you remember when we were in Spain and I was having a hard time dealing with Tamaki because he made all these comments that did not mean harm but still flustered me anyway? You told me that he was just riding on the high of a new romance and was really just as nervous and unsure as I was. You know, I think you're even more nervous than he was. You like to maintain some sort of control, some appearance of knowing what you are doing, but you seemed rather embarrassed when I told you that you have nice eyes before we went on our date and when I accidentally talked about moving to the US with you. You are also riding on the high."

Even though her tone was nowhere close to flustering and it was obvious that she had not meant to affect him with this observation, he found himself turning pink. "Really?"

She looked surprised. "Oh, you're blushing...You're blushing a lot."

"Am not," he responded indignantly.

She smirked. _Uh oh._ "What if I told you that you are the smartest, most amazing person I know?"

Kyoya wished he could turn invisible or evaporate away at that moment.


	22. Thousand Years

Kyoya stood before the front door to Haruhi's apartment at five that Saturday afternoon, staring at his black oxfords and wondering what she could possibly have planned. While he could generally predict how people would act, he was not so great at reading either Tamaki or Haruhi. She _was_ fairly predictable when it came to most things, but he would not put it past her to come up with something interesting for their date. _Especially_ after they had just finished their final exams. _Oh well. As long as I get to spend some time with her, I would not mind anything, really._

Taking a deep breath, he knocked on the surprisingly cold wood. _It's rather cold for an April day._ He wondered how he had not realized how freezing it was out. As much as he loved cool weather, he wondered if he should have prepared better for the chill. _Should have brought gloves. At least my trench coat is warm._

"Coming!" Haruhi yelled from inside before answering the door.

"Hello, love," he greeted before stepping inside into the warmth of her apartment and taking off his coat. Now that he was inside, he could see that she was dressed in her normal, boyish fashion: green cotton sweater on top of a white collared shirt and a pair of blue jeans. Even though the shirt looked a bit wrinkled and the jeans were a bit faded, Kyoya thought the outfit suited her. _She looks like herself. She's beautiful._

He froze and looked down at his own clothes.

They were wearing pretty much the same thing, if one disregarded the fact that the fabrics and colors were not exactly the same. _His_ sweater was black and made out of baby cashmere (his favorite fabric, as it was so soft and satin-like). The collar of _his_ shirt rested immaculately on his shoulders, with not a wrinkle to be found. _His_ jeans were grey, and while they were somewhat old, they most definitely were not faded.

Still, the resemblance in dress was uncanny.

He snickered and then full-on laughed.

Haruhi blushed ever so slightly as she laughed along with him. "Well, then. We are somewhat matching today."

"I suppose we rubbed off on each other," he responded with a shrug. "You did say to wear layers. It's not my fault we _both_ chose to take the cozy, somewhat academia route." This was a nonchalant enough statement, but he paired it with a smirk.

An all-too-familiar shade of scarlet painted her cheeks, and she ran her fingers through her hair. _Yes, we definitely rubbed off on each other._ But then she smirked, and he braced himself for what he knew was coming. "You seem rather suited to it, though, _handsome_."

 _Compliments will be my undoing someday,_ Kyoya decided as he felt himself grow warm. He fiddled with his clothes to hide his embarrassment, which of course only served to make him appear even more awkward. _Goddamnit._

"Good. Now we are even," she said as she put on a coat, gloves, and a pair of rather chunky white sneakers. While she probably got the shoes and coat at a discount somewhere, he had to admit that they looked nice on her.

 _Correction: Haruhi_ is _my undoing at this point._ Trying his best to not let either her comments or his thoughts fluster him even further, he cleared his throat with a little cough."Okay, then. Let's get going. If you don't want to tell me where we are going yet, you can go ahead and give Hotta the location in a way that does not expose the _secret_." He emphasized the last word to assure Haruhi that he would not try to spoil the fun.

"Okay," she replied eagerly. _She's really excited about this, isn't she? Sometimes she can get quite ecstatic over small things like this. It's adorable, really._

Soon they were both sitting in the backseat of the car, chatting about the week's experiences. With all the studying and sleeping (attempting to sleep, at least) Kyoya had done every day that week (with the notable exception of Monday), he had not had much chance to talk to her outside of their rides to Ouran and back. They had not even talked that much during those times, either, as they both did some last minute review during the rides despite the very real danger of motion-sickness.

As he talked, all his worries from that week seemed to gently fade away, replaced by a sense of calm and comfort. _It's nice to get to talk to her again. It would be perfect if only the weather was not so cold. Some gloves would have helped._ Haruhi, meanwhile, looked content in her puffy coat and thick gloves. "So Ootori-san still hasn't responded?"

He shook his head in reply. "No, he hasn't. I think he might be waiting until graduation." For some strange reason, he was not dreading it.

A small laugh surprised him. "That does sound like him. What about Fuyumi?"

 _I_ really _should have brought_ _gloves,_ he thought as shoved his hands into his pockets. "Still haven't talked to her, as I was too busy. She'll be gone most of next week, so I don't think I can talk to her until Thursday, the day before graduation."

"Okay, at least you have some sort of plan, right?" _Of course. I'm not going to chicken out and not talk to her about Mother._ When he nodded in reply, she smiled and took his hand in hers. "How about final exams? I'm pretty sure I did well on my history and English exams, but I think I could have done better on my chemistry one," she confessed, looking unhappy at the thought, her grin fading.

He chuckled. "I'm sure you did fine, Haruhi. You are one incredible scholarship student, after all."

A smile returned to her face. "Thanks. I'm sure you did really well, too!"

"Thanks." His hands were becoming rather numb in his pockets, so he took them out again. It was better to have them be cold than be sore. "Do you have some gloves? While I might have done well on my exams, my hands are freezing."

"Oh. Thankfully I keep extras." She fished through her coat pockets before taking out what looked like a lump of cloth.

When she handed the lump to him, he realized that it really was a pair of black woolen gloves. Thankful for such luck, he put them on. _It's funny how a simple pair of gloves can make someone so much warmer._ He thought it was funny how they stretched to fit his hands, as his own gloves were all either made of leather, thick cashmere, or some mixture of both.

Haruhi laughed when he mentioned this. "They are one-size-fit-all, Kyoya. They were handing them for free in the supermarket a while back, so I got them. I have five pairs of these at home, so you can keep them if you want. You want to stay warm, as we still have a little while until we get to where we are headed."

"Oh." His mouth curved into a smile as he looked at the gloves. "Thank you, Haruhi."

After another half hour, Hotta finally stopped the car and told Haruhi that they had arrived. Kyoya looked out the window out of curiosity and then froze.

_What the-_

"This is an ice skating rink," he finally said, his voice rather small from shock. "You brought me to a skating rink?"

She gave a small pout. "I thought it would be fun. Tamaki told me that you like to ice skate."

 _Oh. She thinks I reacted that way because I don't like ice skating._ "No, I don't have a problem with it. I do like ice skating, though I don't do it often. But... _you_...I'm just surprised you brought me here."

"You can help me, right?" Her doe eyes shone with excitement. "I've never skated before, but I want to try. It's like when I first skied during the school trip."

He chuckled at her enthusiasm, which had returned in earnest after she found that he was satisfied with her choice for the date. It was as if someone had put a plate full of ootoro in front of her. "Why not?"

Before he knew it, he was sitting on a bench and lacing up a pair of black ice skates. It was not much hotter inside the rink than it was outside, so they both kept their coats and gloves on.

He wished he had someone to record their time on the ice, because it was nothing short of entertaining

"Kyoya, if you let me go, I'll kill you!" she screamed as they skated around the rink.

"I am not going to let you fall," he assured her with a laugh. He _may_ have been _slightly_ twisted, but he really enjoyed the way Haruhi clung to him and held his arms tightly. It gave him a weirdly triumphant feeling.

"Kyoya," she breathed, suddenly hugging him and almost making the two of them fall onto the ice. "Woah. This is so much fun. I should have done this way sooner."

He found it impossible to stop looking at her as he led her across the ice. His heart warmed at his girlfriend's joy, which was becoming rather infectious.

"Let me try on my own," she asked him with a breathless laugh once they stopped for a bit, "I won't fall."

"Okay," he told her with a smile, "I will hold you to your word. Don't you dare fall."

Haruhi skated for a good while before finally losing her balance. "Woahhhhh!"

Kyoya caught her by wrapping an arm around her back, as if he were dipping her during a waltz, and then smirked at her bemused reaction. "Careful, love." She blushed and tried to stand up using Kyoya as support, hugging him tightly as if she were a corset. "Haruhi, are you trying to squeeze the life out of me?" he groaned.

Embarrassed, she quickly separated from him without thinking and then promptly fell. "Aaaah!"

 _At least she's not hurt._ Trying his best not to show his amusement, he helped her up. "Didn't I tell you not to fall?" he asked with faked seriousness.

She giggled, and his heart skipped a beat as she stared up at him with her large doe eyes. "You also told me you will not let me fall."

Kyoya laughed at this and then took her hand in his. "How about you skate while holding my hand? While you are a fast learner, it would be best if you did not have any more accidents."

"Yeah," she laughed. "I suppose I should. We’re beginning to attract attention."

People were beginning to stare at them, and Kyoya remembered that Haruhi was dressed like a boy. He shrugged. “So what?” he told her with a small smile as he started to skate again, leading her across the ice. She grinned in return, making his own smile grow. 

After they had skated for another half hour and then went back to the apartment, Haruhi quickly prepared some hot drink for the both of them. He looked down at the dark brown beverage in the mug before him. _It looks so much like coffee, but the aroma is so different._ "What is this?"

She gasped. "You never had hot chocolate before? It's super sweet, but I always love to drink some after being out in the cold for too long."

Taking a sip, he realized exactly what she had meant when she warned him that it was very sweet. Still, he found that the hot chocolate did not taste sickening. It could be said that the flavor of steaming-hot cocoa was comforting, in a way. "It's not bad," was his final verdict.

“I can't believe that you never had it before," Haruhi said rather bluntly as she took a sip from her own cup.

They quietly finished their drinks. "We still have some time to spend together," she pointed out as she looked at the kitchen clock. "Oh! Do you want to listen to some music?"

"You want to listen to music together?" he asked, confused. While he loved listening to music, he always thought of it as a more private thing. It seemed sort of personal to share songs with others. _Still, with all the things I have already shared with her..._ "Why not?"

A few minutes later, they were sitting on the couch while he and Haruhi browsed through a playlist of American songs (she insisted that they listen to some American songs as he was going to go to Harvard in fairly soon). "How about this one?" he asked her, pointing to a song he recognized from his time in Boston. It had actually been one of his favorites, though he would have to be held at gunpoint before he ever admitted such a thing. "I've heard it several times before."

"Oh, I never heard it," she admitted.

He smirked, knowing what the song was about. "Then consider it a surprise from me to you, a thank you of sorts."

She swatted at him out of embarrassment. "Kyoya..."

"But you haven't even played the song yet," he fake-complained. She laughed and finally played the song.

_"Heart beats fast_   
_Colors and promises_   
_How to be brave?_   
_How can I love when I'm afraid to fall?_   
_But watching you stand alone_   
_All of my doubt suddenly goes away somehow_   
_One step closer"_

She turned a brilliant shade of red. "Kyoya?"

_"I have died everyday waiting for you_   
_Darling, don't be afraid_   
_I have loved you_   
_For a thousand years_   
_I'll love you for a thousand more"_

_Love. I love you, Haruhi. I love you._ He could not explain where the urge came from, but he then stood up and offered her his hand. "Will you dance with me?"

_"Time stands still_   
_Beauty in all she is_   
_I will be brave..."_

Giggling slightly, she took his hand and let him take the lead.

_"...I will not anything take away_   
_What's standing in front of me_   
_Every breath_   
_Every hour has come to this_   
_One step closer_

_I have died everyday waiting for you_   
_Darling don't be afraid_   
_I have loved you for a thousand years_   
_I'll love you for a thousand more"_

It was ridiculous really, the two of them waltzing on the tatami-matted floor, and they knew it. Kyoya could not help but laugh along with her as they danced.

_"And all along I believed I would find you_   
_Time has brought your heart to me_   
_I have loved you for a thousand years_   
_I'll love you for a thousand more_

_I'll love you for a thousand more_

_One step closer_   
_I have died everyday waiting for you_   
_Darling, don't be afraid_   
_I have love you for a thousand years_   
_I'll love you for a thousand more"_

"Haruhi, I want to thank you for everything you have done for me since we got together. You never hesitated to help me with all the insanity going on in my life. I love you."

_"And all along I believed I would find you_   
_Time has brought your heart to me_   
_I have loved you for a thousand years_   
_I'll love you for a thousand more"_

She pulled him into her arms, and their lips met in a gentle kiss. "I love you, too."


	23. Kyoya's Worst Memory

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had nothing to really do today, so I got bored and wrote this angsty chapter in one day. Great.
> 
> Trigger warning! ⚠️ If you don’t feel comfortable reading about suicide and self harm, please do not read this!

_Kyoya left a note on Fuyumi's bed while she was in the bathroom before he headed to the fifth and highest floor of the Ootori mansion._

_He had never been on that floor before, as Yoshio did not allow the Ootori children up there. The place was for the servants to keep their belongings, not a place for an Ootori to spend his time in. Indeed, there was nothing there but a bunch of old, dusty furniture and cleaning supplies. Nothing but those and a staircase leading to the roof._

_It was cold out. Kyoya, who had turned twelve that day, reflected on this, wondering if the weather had been organized in such a way to fit his mood. He knew, of course, that it was cold because it was almost December. It was far too presumptuous to think that the weather was made just for him, but the thought comforted him for some reason._

_It had also been presumptuous to think that his father would not get mad at him on his birthday over his recent failure regarding a business deal between the Ootori Group and a medical tech company. He had completely messed up the financial report his father had told him to write up, which would set Yoshio back at least a week to fix. This was something that the businessman emphasized rather harshly, along with a plethora of other things, when Kyoya had come to the office that morning to give him the awful news. Kyoya had asked if he could have the chance to fix it. It was his fault, after all. However, Yoshio quickly shot that down, saying that he did not trust him to do any better the second time around._

_He now wondered if his father had even remembered that it was his birthday. Not likely. Yoshio was above such trivial things._

_Of course, Kyoya did not care much about his birthday, either, but his father's words had still stung with a particular venom that came with the knowledge that a child's birthday was supposed to be special. Instead of celebrating like a normal child would, or even simply spending a bit of time relaxing with his siblings in the afternoon like he usually would on his birthdays, he had locked himself in his room, had broken a small glass sculpture, and then had lain in bed, feeling numb and worthless._

_Now that he was actually on the roof, he took a deep, shuddering breath. It was one thing to plan and a whole other thing to execute the said plan. What should he do next? His body told him that he was ridiculous, that he should never do such a thing. His mind internally scoffed. Why? He was useless. A person who, despite his keen intellect, could not help but mess things up for his father. How many times did he slip up when trying to socialize with his classmates and his father's business associates? How many times did he not read his father's wishes correctly? Useless. Even if he did ever manage to be useful, he doubted that he would ever be happy. Something about the cold world his father lived in never appealed to him, even though he truly loved the idea of running a business. Useless._

_But coming up to the roof was also useless. It was not like he was ever going to actually jump off the edge, now that he thought about it. To think that he would somehow find the courage to do what he so badly wanted to do when he got on the roof was childish. He could plan such things in incredible detail, but he could never follow through with the execution. Slowly, but surely, he made his way to the edge of the roof and then sat there, trying to urge himself to stand back up and jump. If only he could just end his suffering._

_"KYOYA!" Fuyumi screamed from below, and Kyoya looked down in shock. He had not seen her come outside, but there she was, still in her nightgown. She was sobbing, the tears glistening brightly enough for him to make them out from nearly five stories above. The irony was not lost on Kyoya. Here he was, standing on the roof and thinking of jumping, and she was the one who was crying. "KYOYA! Please come back down! I won't tell Father, promise, but please...Don't...Kyoya...Please!"_

_His older self wanted to scream along with Fuyumi and assure his younger self that everything would be all right, but he knew that it would not be until Tamaki came around that his younger self would ever believe such a thing. He could only cry as Fuyumi finally got him to get off the roof. He could only cry as he took a silver blade and marred his thighs with lines of red. He could only cry as the dream continued._

_Yuichi, who obviously must have been woken up by Fuyumi and told to check on him, then walked in. Without saying a word, he pried the knife from Kyoya’s hand and began to treat the cuts. Kyoya, who could not find the energy to argue, let Yuichi comfort him and take him to bed. Eventually, he fell asleep in his brother's arms._

He woke up with a gasp on Thursday morning, and he then buried his head in his surprisingly wet pillow. _M_ _aybe it's is a sign that I am worried about talking to Fuyumi this afternoon and eventually visiting my mother. To imagine that I used to be like that but then last Saturday I went on that date with Haruhi. Stupid writer, always messing with my feelings...Why did I have to remember my worst memory?_

Heaving a sigh, he looked at the clock. _11:30 AM._ He was about to panic when he remembered that Wednesday had been the last day of school and that he did not have to go to school until graduation that Friday. _I spent the whole afternoon with her yesterday after Tamaki brought everyone here to finish planning. How could I forget that it was the last day of the school year?_

"Master Kyoya, are you feeling okay?" Aijima asked worriedly when Kyoya made his way to the kitchen to have a late breakfast after he had grabbed a book off of his bookshelf.

"Yeah. Just some nightmare again," he confessed as he sat down and began to read, though he hated how immature the wording made the statement sound. He also hated how he suddenly felt so miserable the day before his own graduation.

Aijima nodded before handing him his morning cup of coffee and a plate of pancakes glazed with maple syrup. "Again?" he asked sympathetically. "Maybe you want to call Miss Fujioka and talk to her about it? You seem to like sharing things with her."

He put down his book and nodded, knowing that there was no use in denying the fact. _Maybe I should talk about it with her. I do enjoy sharing myself with her, and it might make the memories stop haunting me._ Unable to think of what to say, he focused on cutting his pancakes into ridiculously tiny pieces before he finally answered. "Thanks, Aijima. I will. After breakfast, I'll go call her. Will you tell Tachibana and Hotta that I want to visit Fuyumi after I'm done talking to Haruhi?"

The man put his hand up in salute. "Yes, sir!"

Aijima left, and the kitchen was enveloped in silence. Kyoya started to read again while enjoying his meal, robotically stabbing pieces of pancake with a fork in between mouthfuls as he slowly lost himself in the book. He never read during breakfast when he had school as he never had the time, but now he let himself relax. Reading was calming, something he needed after such a jolting dream.

Once he finished his pancakes and cup of coffee, he finally got up to wash his plate and then headed to his room. He took a steadying breath before taking his phone and calling her. She picked up after the third ring. _"Kyoya? What's up?"_

"I had another one of those terrible dreams. My memories just won't leave me alone, I suppose."

Her tone grew serious to match his. _"Oh? Did you want to talk to me about it, then? Is that why you called me?"_

"Yes. I-I do want to talk to you about it, as painful as it was. In fact, it's my worst memory." His voice slightly hitched at the last word.

 _"Kyoya? You want to tell me?"_ She paused, as if she were trying to figure out how to react. _"Deep_ _breaths, and start from the beginning."_

He followed her advice. "So, during my twelfth birthday, my father got really mad at me and yelled at me for a solid hour. He hit me, too, but the bruises were nothing compared to what he had said that day. I still remember it quite clearly."

 _"On your birthday?"_ she asked, sounding horrified.

"Yes," he replied, his voice breaking slighly as he said this. "Even though I never really celebrated my birthday until I met Tamaki, it still _sort_ of hurt because I know all my classmates had fun on their birthdays. Again, it was his words that really hurt, and I sort of _broke_ after that. It's the only way I can describe it, really, as I locked myself in my room and lay in bed the rest of the day as if I were a hollowed shell. But it was that night I dreamed about. I wrote a suicide note, put it on Fuyumi's bed, and then went onto the roof. I was not sure what I was thinking, as I knew that I would never be able to do such a thing even though I really wanted to."

_"Oh my god..."_

For some reason, this one statement made him feel much, much better. He thought it was funny that Haruhi always had that effect on him. "Fuyumi found me and tried to get me to go, but it took an hour for her to finally persuade me to get off the roof."

_"Kyoya, I-I don't know what to say. I know you told me the other day that you were like that, but hearing this...I'm so sorry, Kyoya. I'm so, so sorry that you did not feel that you were enough. I wish I were there to remind you every day that you are such an amazing person."_

_Thank you, Haruhi. I wish you were there, too._ He chuckled. "Haruhi, you have been quite fond of complimenting me lately, haven't you? Payback for all I say?"

She laughed. " _Yeah. Is that why my compliments fluster you? Because you are not used to getting true ones?"_

"Yes," he admitted before his mind attempted to stop him from doing so. "But I want to talk to you about something else that was related to the dream. Sorry, I feel like you have been the one who has been sitting and listening to me ever since we got together..."

_"No, I'm listening. With all that has happened, you need to have someone listen to you, Kyoya. I've must have told you this a million times before, but it's okay for you to talk to me about everything. Don't think that I'm sacrificing myself to help you out here. Besides, you have helped me during thunderstorms, you certainly listened to me whenever we chat to each other about our views on different topics when we hang out, and I'm sure you will be doing your share of listening when everything is better because you've always been the sort of person who sits and listens."_

He sniffed slightly. "Thank you, Haruhi. I think I'm kind of nervous to talk to Fuyumi about Mother and then eventually go visit her, wherever _she_ is. I've been waiting to talk to Fuyumi first before trying to figure out more about Mother, but I...I'm honestly scared. I'm not as scared by the thought of her as I once had been, but still."

_"I'm sure she would be happy to see you after nearly ten years, Kyoya. What are you so worried about?"_

"I don't know, Haruhi. That's the thing. I don't know what to expect. The last time I saw her was when I was eight, remember?"

She chuckled warmly. " _I know it's scary, but just talk to Fuyumi and visit your mother, all right? You won't regret it, I'm sure."_

"Thank you." He furrowed his brow in thought. "You miss your mother, don't you?"

_"I do. I miss Mom a lot. I would do anything to be with her again. After she left, I think I grew up too fast. I want to go back to being that little child who played with her mother at the park."_

"I'm so sorry that you weren't able to spend more time with her."

_"And I'm sorry that you weren't able to spend more time with your own mother. I don't want you to look back at this in the future and regret never seeing her."_

He remembered something that the chairman had told him the day after he had been disowned to make him feel better, and thought that he would say the same thing to her. It was definitely true (in her case, at least). "Haruhi, you know something?"

 _"Know what?"_ she asked softly.

"I think your mother would have been proud of you."

Haruhi sniffed, and Kyoya wondered if she had teared up. _"Really? You think so?"_

"Yes. You want nothing more but to follow your mother's footsteps, and I find that incredible. Based on what Ranka has told me about her, you are a lot like her, too. I'm sure you'll make a great lawyer when you're older."

Another sniff. _"With you around, I don't doubt it."_

He grinned. "I won't let you give up on your incredible ambitions, that's for sure."

_"Kyoya, can I...Could I come over to your penthouse and spend some time with you after you talk with Fuyumi? I mean, we've seen each other a lot during club hours, and we did have Host Club meetings at your place almost every day so far this week, but it's different from when it's just you and me. After spring break, I'll be in my third year, and you'll be going to Harvard soon afterwards..."_

_That will definitely cheer me up, like it did so many times before. We'll both miss each other when I go to Harvard, won't we?_ "Sure, why not? I think that's a great idea. I'll order some sushi, and we can watch a movie afterwards or something."

_"Okay, see you then! Bye!"_

His smile grew. "Yes, see you then," he told her before finally hanging up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like I've posted the last two or three chapters really, really quickly. I don't think the other chapters will be posted as quickly, unfortunately, but enjoy this one while you wait for the next! I don't know how long it will take to write the next chapter, but please don't expect me to keep posting chapters every three or four days. It all depends on how long I take to write it and how long I take to make any necessary edits before posting. I'll try to post once every week or so.


	24. Fuyumi, Movies, and a Sleepy Haruhi

Fuyumi was relaxing on a rather comfy-looking couch when a burly looking guard led Kyoya into the main living room of the Shido mansion. When she saw him, she practically jumped off the couch. "Kyoya! You came to visit! How nice of you! You know, I was about to go visit you later today. Tamaki and I revised our commoner's food map during the weekend!" She began to fish through her purse for the map (Kyoya swore she pulled the bag out of midair, but that was impossible, so he quickly put aside the notion).

Kyoya deadpanned. "That sounds nice, but I don't have the time. I wanted to talk to you about something, so I thought I'd come over," he informed her as a servant took his coat.

"Oh, okay," she said, deflating somewhat and sitting back down.

He _almost_ felt bad for not indulging her interest in "commoner things." Almost. He sighed as he sat next to her. "Akito told me that you guys visit our mother."

She turned red and began to sweat. "Oh? Did he now?"

He raised an eyebrow. "I'm pretty sure you were behind that, Fuyumi. Akito would not just randomly do something like that for me. While he cares, he is a bit slow to help others. You told him to help me out by publishing the truth behind my disownment and accidentally letting slip the fact that you all go and see her every once in a while."

She paled. "Okay, okay. It was me that told him to do all that. It didn't take much convincing, but I still needed to nudge him in that direction."

He took a slow, deep breath. "I want to visit her, too."

Her brow crinkled. "So my plan worked? You actually are willing to go see Mom?"

"Yes." He again raised an eyebrow.

Fuyumi looked ecstatic. "Yay! Hmmm...I'm free tomorrow. I can take you to visit her sometime in the afternoon."

Kyoya internally facepalmed out of frustration. "Fuyumi, I can't go tomorrow. You are forgetting about my graduation!"

"Oh right! I can't believe I forgot that your graduation is tomorrow! Aww! My baby brother is graduating from high school and will go to Harvard," she wailed, attacking him with a gigantic bear hug. "You're all grown-up now!"

He deadpanned once again and tried to get out of her grip (though he did not necessarily mind the hug), but she squeezed him even more tightly. "Fuyumi, I won't be able to go to graduation if you hug me to death."

She let him go and then laughed. "That would be ridiculous, huh? Cause of death: hugging.”

He began to snicker. "It really would."

"How about Sunday afternoon?" she asked, eyes wide with hope.

His lips curled into a smile. "Perfect. Sunday afternoon it is." _This was t_ _oo easy. Though I suppose this is the easy part. It's actually going and meeting her that makes me nervous. Funny how that worries me while the thought of what Ootori-san might do tomorrow does not. At least not really._ Looking at his watch, he realized that he should probably leave soon if he wanted to spend some time with Haruhi. "I have to go. Haruhi wanted to hang out at my place."

She smiled and led him to the front door. He was about to leave when she addressed him again. "You know, I think Fujioka-san is rather special. You certainly seem to be positively influenced by her."

Kyoya pondered this for a moment, but could not arrive at a desirable conclusion. "What do you mean?"

"You've changed, Kyoya. Tamaki changed you for sure, but she...You may not realize this, but you are a much different person now. Much more open and willing to take chances, like Fujioka-san herself, based on what I learned about her from Tamaki. You confronted Father. You stopped him from disbanding the Host Club. You became the CEO of a software company. You took Father's American assets from right under his nose. Wouldn't you say you are acting differently? Love does that sometimes, I suppose."

 _She's right...As good as I am at reading most people, I am terrible at reading myself._ Kyoya stared at the floor and tried to find patterns in the wood grain. "You think so? That's intriguing."

She laughed. "I guess it is."

He was still thinking about this during the ride back to his penthouse. _I have changed a lot, haven't I? My old self would have scoffed at how happy I was simply ice skating with Haruhi. Actually, it still sounds ridiculous to me. Still, I can't help but enjoy the small things now._

He sighed to himself. "Hotta, did you get the sushi?"

"Yes, sir," the older man affirmed.

Kyoya sighed again and took out his phone.

_**Kyoya: I'm done talking to Fuyumi. Hotta is coming to get you after he drops me back at my penthouse.** _

She responded almost immediately.

_**Haruhi: Nice. How did it go?** _

_**Kyoya: She's taking me to visit our mother on Sunday. I'm still scared, but sort of excited as well.** _

He ran his fingers through his hair. _I really am, thanks to what you told me this morning, Haruhi._

 _**Haruhi: That's great!** _ **٩** **(^ᴗ^)** **۶**

He smiled and put down his phone. Soon, he was back in his penthouse. Tachibana handed him the day's newspaper, and Kyoya sat down on his bed and was about to read it when Haruhi texted him again.

_**Haruhi: What was your mother's name? I don't think I ever asked.** _

_**Kyoya: Rikona Ootori** _

_**Haruhi: That's a beautiful name.**_ _**I'm sure it suits her.**_

Kyoya froze, unsure as to how to react. _I suppose it will never not be awkward to talk about her_. Finally, he quickly typed out a response before he could lose his nerve.

_**Kyoya: Yes, it does. She was beautiful, I recall. She was also rather smart, and she loved to teach us about different things. I never knew that she went to Harvard until Akito told me, though.** _

_**Haruhi:**_ **(ToT)**

For some reason, the little emoticon made him smile and shake his head. He was glad that while Yoshio probably had something planned during graduation and while he still had to visit his mother that Sunday, the roller coaster that had been his life the past two or so weeks was finally calming down. He had Haruhi to thank for that.

_**Kyoya: Don't feel bad. You've done nothing but help. Because of you, I'm not worried about Ootori-san.** _

_**Haruhi: I'm glad everything is beginning to work out.** _

His heart warmed at this text.

 _ **Kyoya: Me too. Now get over here. I'm waiting.**_ **(°▽°)**

 _**Haruhi: Did you just use an emoticon? It's an un-Shadow-King-like one, too.** _ **(°.°)**

 _**Kyoya: Just get over here.** _ **(¬_¬)**

_**Haruhi: On my way. Hotta just arrived. See you in a few minutes!** _

He would have jumped out of joy if he had been anything like Tamaki, but settled for a relatively large grin instead.

_**Kyoya: See you.** _

He set his phone down and began reading the newspaper. When he found a couple coupons on the side of the articles, he carefully cut them out using a pair of scissors instead of ignoring them as he usally did. Haruhi, at least, would appreciate them. _Though I'm not sure why they have coupons in a newspaper geared towards businessmen._

Finally, after ten minutes of this, Haruhi arrived and was let in by Tachibana, who then dutifully went back outside to finish what he had been doing. _Finally. She's here._ "Hello!" she greeted him before suddenly tripping as she tried to step inside. She fell on him and they both landed on the floor, her head on his chest.

 _Wonderful. What a way to say hi._ "Hello, love. That was not the greeting I expected. Do be more careful." When he wrapped his arms around her, he found that she was burning. He smirked, but then his smile softened. _I really have changed, haven't I?_ Lost in his thoughts, it seemed almost inconsequential that they were still lying on the floor.

"Penny for your thoughts?" she asked, bringing him back to reality.

His smirk returned. "I was just thinking about how it was convenient that you knocked me over instead of another vase. Then you would have been in debt again. You know, with your clumsiness, you just might break another expensive item one day."

"Shadow King," Haruhi grumbled under her breath, though her face was still red. "What were you really thinking about?"

"You've changed me, you know."

She turned a darker shade of red. "I never know how to react when you say something like that out of the blue. Not fair."

He finally let go of his hold on her. "How about you get up first before you tell me off for flustering you?"

Haruhi's reaction was immediate. Somehow managing to flush even darker, she hurriedly got off of him. He laughed as he sat up, making Haruhi pout. "Well, at least you are much happier than you were in the morning," she muttered.

He laughed harder before recalling that he had some coupons to give her. "I have something for you, just wait." He went back to his bedroom to get the coupons. "I thought you'd want these."

She looked confused, but then she took them and laughed. "Thanks. These deals are great! Only 350 yen per kilo of rice!" A look of joy flashed on her face as she looked through the coupons. He smiled as she eagerly put them in her coat's pockets. Suddenly, her stomach growled.

He did not bother suppressing his laugh, making her pout. "It's past lunchtime. You must be hungry."

Her stomach growled again before she could respond. "I am," she admitted sheepishly as she took of her coat and hung it on a coat rack Kyoya kept near the door.

"Of course." They were soon sitting under the kotatsu and enjoying some sushi. As Haruhi dug in, she slowly sank into what appeared to be a food-induced coma. "Mmm..."

"You really love food, don't you?" he laughed. _She's adorable._

She merely glared at him before moving her plate closer to her body and then continuing to scarf down the pieces of sushi. _Still adorable. Unless she is truly angry, she is about as threatening as a cupcake._

"All right, all right. I'll leave you to eat the way you want," he assured her, putting his hands up in surrender.

Somehow, a small comment about the beauty of sushi that followed eventually became a criticism of Greek philosophers. Then it became a debate about human morality.

"Well, it's all based on perspective, isn't it?" Haruhi concluded thoughtfully as she finished her last piece of sushi.

Kyoya hummed in agreement, considering this as he, too, finished his meal. "Indeed. Still, the conversation was very enlightening." He paused to thank Aijima as the man took their plates and went to wash them.

"It really was. Can we watch a movie now?"

They made their way to the living room, where Kyoya used a button to close the blinds and darken the room. "Now, what shall we watch?" he asked as he sat down on his couch and started going through the list of available movies on his smart TV.

She shook her head and muttered something about damn rich people before sitting down next to him and watching him scroll. "How about a movie series? We can have a marathon or something and watch movies for the next couple of hours."

Kyoya shrugged. "That's not a bad idea, really."

They picked a movie series, and Haruhi wrapped herself around him as the first movie began. The plot of the movie was rather interesting, but he found his focus wavering to the comfortable-looking tanuki sitting next to him. He began kissing her, gently at first but then more passionately as she returned in kind. "Kyoya..." Haruhi whined as they finally parted. "I don't mind this, but I also want to cuddle and watch the movie."

Kyoya chortled at this and allowed her to rest her head on his shoulders before at last focusing on the movie. He found himself dissecting the plot and offering his thoughts. Haruhi would eagerly supplement this with her own observations. This was often followed by bursts of laughter.

Sometime during the middle of the second movie, however, he heard soft snores coming from next to him. Haruhi had fallen asleep, her head limp on his shoulders. _I suppose she wants to take a nap. She must have stayed up late reviewing for her exams almost everyday last week, just like I did._

Smiling at the sight, he gently took her in his arms. After he ever so slowly got up, he carried her bridal style towards the master bedroom. "Kyo?" she woke up and mumbled blearily, the single word filled with an ocean of sleepiness. Her eyes remained closed.

"Yes?" he asked quietly.

"Love you," she yawned, nuzzling her head against his chest and going back to sleep again.

"I love you too," he whispered, chuckling softly to himself. Though he was not exactly sure as to why, the song from the other night played in his background of his mind while he entered the bedroom and set her down on the bed. _Time has brought your heart to me..._ He carefully tucked her in and was about to go back to the living room when he realized that there was no reason as to why he could not get some sleep, either. He had already done all the required planning for his graduation, and there was not much he could do until then. He was tired and could afford to rest for a bit, he supposed. He shrugged before laying down next to her and trying to find his way to the shores of sleep.


	25. Masks and a Lack of Sleep

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay! Enjoy this chapter!

The following morning, Kyoya woke up to find that he had managed to nuzzle up against her in his sleep. He carefully untangled himself from her and then sat up to find a tall, rather lanky man sitting at his desk in the bedroom, the chair turned so that the man was facing the bed. Despite his rather blurry vision, Kyoya could tell that the man was wearing a decorative black mask that covered his face. _Should I be more worried that there is a strange man in my room or that what was supposed to be a small nap lasted until morning, meaning that Ranka is now almost certainly plotting my demise?_

However, before he was about to wake Haruhi up and warn her that something was amiss, realization hit him. He turned towards the man again and gave a smirk.

“Akito,” Kyoya whispered before grabbing his glasses and putting them on. “You really shouldn’t come unannounced.” He gestured towards Haruhi’s sleeping form. “Also, don’t wake her up.” _Or else I’ll kill you,_ he wanted to say.

Akito chuckled quietly, but when he spoke, his voice was eerily similar to Tamaki’s. “I had to come in such a fashion. _Auf diese Weise kann ich mehr Spaß haben_ ,” he told Kyoya. “I never knew you were such a cuddler. It really is sad how you pine after a mere commoner.”

“Stop that,” Kyoya replied in a hushed shout. He looked at the clock. _11 AM. Ranka is not going to be happy._ “Must you always act like a jerk? All you were told to do was take my mask and make the alterations I requested before returning it to me. Hand it over.”

“Fine,” Akito sighed as he took off the mask. “You are still rather irritating, you know?” he informed Kyoya, his voice now his own. “I can’t believe I helped you after Father almost ended the Host Club.”

Though his gaze was currently focused on Haruhi, Kyoya could picture Akito’s expression clearly. It amused him, in a way. He finally went back to looking at Akito. “Yes, to do so must have wounded your pride, if you have any,” he finally answered rather dismissively as he got up from the bed and took the mask. He rolled his eyes for emphasis. _Yes. Akito has no pride or ambition of his own. More than a bit desperate to fulfill the role of the second son, he has unwittingly tied himself up with his own chains._

Akito huffed before making his way to the bedroom door, Kyoya close behind. Before he left, he turned around to address Kyoya one last time, and his expression softened. “Have a nice graduation. I won’t be attending, but do enjoy yourself. And…Good luck with Father, for all that’s worth. You now own what business assets he had in the US, but don’t get cocky. He’ll be sure to chew you out during your own graduation.”

 _Does he really think that I did not know Father is probably planning to talk to me sometime during graduation?_ Kyoya traced the intricate beading of the mask. “I am not worried about him anymore. I have more pressing concerns, such as my mother.”

“That’s good...” Unable to find anything else to say, Akito left. Kyoya watched as his figure receded into the shadows of the hallways. 

He hid the mask in his closet and then went to wake Haruhi up. “Good morning, love. You seemed to have slept well. It’s almost 11 in the morning.”

She reluctantly opened her eyes halfway. “Mmm...Let me sleep some more.”

He raised an eyebrow. As much as he would like her to get some rest if she was really that tired, he really needed her to wake up. “Your father is going to kill me, and you want to sleep some more?”

Her eyes closed again, but she was at least still awake. “My father? Oh...Dad...He’s going to kill you for sure.” This was said in a drowsy but extremely annoyed voice.

Kyoya smiled. “That’s a relief,” he replied sarcastically. “You really should get up.”

“Fine,” she surrendered irritably.

He frowned. Morning Haruhi was always grouchy (he recalled her reaction to Tamaki’s calls), but she seemed exceptionally touchy at the moment. “Haruhi, did you get much sleep last week? Don’t tell me you pulled all-nighters to review for your exams.” _I should have noticed earlier that she was tired. She was acting fairly normally yesterday and when we had the Host Club meetings, but there must have been some sign of her fatigue that I could have paid attention to. I was so tired and wrapped up in my own plans that I didn't see it..._

“I did,” she confessed. “I felt fine, but I guess now that I have time to relax, all that sleepiness has come back to me. And don’t tell me about sleep. You _always_ stay up until 5 or 6 in the morning unless I get you to sleep earlier, and I’m sure you pulled a few all-nighters last week because of everything you had to get done. It’s not healthy.”

 _It isn't, but it's normal for me._ “I’m used to it, but you are not. I have a hard time sleeping during exam week, and I _had_ to stay up because otherwise I would never finish everything that I had to. Even after all that, I did not manage to get much review done because of Tamaki and because I was busy planning for everything. You, on the other hand, did not need to stay up. I know for a fact that you are able to easily manage the chores and studying you have to do, so you only stayed up late to do as much review as possible. There was no need for you to review so frantically, seeing that you are comfortable with all of your subjects,” he admonished. “Even _I_ don’t study that hard for exams during a normal school year.”

“That’s because you are a _literal_ genius and have a million other things to do besides study! Think about it, if this was a regular school year, you would be helping Ootori-san with a new deal, managing both the Host Club and Ootori Group finances, spending more time with Tamaki to work on plans for the graduation-day masquerade dance, meeting with several of your classmates to maintain your connections, and so on and so forth. You _still_ wouldn’t have gotten some rest! You never get enough sleep!” _Definitely more touchy than usual._ “And what about food? During the lunch break we had between morning and afternoon exams, you never ate anything! Tamaki told me yesterday when he called me.” 

_Ah, so he had noticed._ He stared at her, confused by her outburst. “This wasn't about me, Haruhi, so try to be reasonable. Just because I rarely get enough sleep and probably slept less than you last week doesn't mean that what I'm saying is wrong. That's a logical fallacy, actually."

"Smartass," she huffed. "Fine, I won't do it anymore."

His expression softened. "If you really want to know why I didn't eat anything during lunch last week, it was because I would have thrown it all up. Just like how I have a hard time sleeping during exam week, I also have a hard time eating.” She looked skeptical, and he sighed. “In my first year of middle school, when we were taking our midterms, I tried eating something during lunch because I had skipped breakfast that day and my blood pressure was low. I ended up having to retake my history midterm because I had to leave halfway through it. But then again, I probably would have fainted if I hadn’t eaten then.”

She laughed, surprising him. “Wow, that’s bad. I don’t know why I’m laughing, but that’s…If it helps, I get really nervous over my exams, too.”

 _Hence the lack of sleep._ He laughed, too, even though it was not funny in the slightest sense. “Anyway, I’ve learned from that experience. I found that I am more relaxed when I return from school, so I can eat. That’s why I often eat filling dinners during exam week, like that pasta I made you last Monday. I’m usually not that fond of heavy, unhealthy meals, but I need to keep my blood pressure from dropping too low.”

Her brow furrowed. “Right. But why are you so upset that I did not get enough sleep last week?”

His gave a soft smile. “Haruhi, I’m just worried, okay? If you need help studying for an exam, you can let me know. I can contact Ayame, who will be attending Ouran University and is always willing to tutor you, or I can help you myself, seeing that I am bound to get bored at Harvard. For a small fee, of course.” _As if. I'd help her for free if she'd like._

She returned the smile. “Thanks. That’s kind of you. Now can I go back to sleep?”

He smirked. “No, unfortunately. You have to protect me from Ranka.”

She rolled her eyes. “Fine, I’ll save your sorry ass. Thank me later.”

He laughed. “After you save me, I’ll need you to do something else for me before you can back to sleep." _After that's done, I'll let her sleep until it is time for us to get ready for the masquerade dance and the graduation ceremony._

She looked puzzled. “Okay?”


	26. Graduation Day!

“Come on, senpai! Can’t you trust us?” the twins asked Kyoya in sync as they dragged him to the back room of Music Room #3.

“No,” Kyoya replied flatly. “I can’t.”

“Too bad,” was Hikaru’s response, and he and Kaoru tightened their hold of him.

“Let go!” Kyoya growled, and they grinned before following the order. Kyoya fell onto the floor, and the two cackled. He got up and glared at them, making them fall silent. “I’ll walk by myself, you two morons.” Satisfied by their reactions, Kyoya turned around and headed to the back room by himself.

“We forgot the first rule of Hitachiin mischief...” Kaoru whispered.

“...Don’t mess with Kyoya-senpai,” Hikaru whispered back as he stared at Kyoya’s receding form.

Kyoya rolled his eyes before stepping into the room. _This better be good. I can’t believe I’m depending on two devious twins to not play around and actually come up with decent costumes for all the hosts...Why do I sound like Tamaki?_

Kyoya shook his head before looking at the seven garment bags set out for the hosts, each labelled with the respective host’s name. As Kyoya took the one with his name, Tamaki (who had somehow entered the room without his notice) hovered over him. “I want to see! I want to see!” he exclaimed, his chin practically digging into Kyoya’s shoulder. Kyoya rolled his eyes before unzipping the bag and taking out the costume.

His costume was a sleek, silvery-grey silk tuxedo with a black lapel and matching bow tie. He was not entirely sure, but it seemed to be Kaoru’s work. Something about the outfit reminded him of the younger twin’s work. _He usually likes to do my costumes, too. It has to be him._

“This is beautiful,” Tamaki whispered, as if afraid to break the silence. “I can’t wait to see mine!”

Kyoya, frowning, dug his hand into his garment bag. “Yes, but I need my masquerade mask.” 

Tamaki sparkled. “Oooooh, right!” _Why are you like this, Tamaki?_

Rolling his eyes, he finally pulled out his ink-colored mask. It was traditionally shaped and made of PVC plastic, with a felt backing to make it more comfortable to wear. The front was made to look as if it were completely covered in inky dragon scales, and a single, dark feather flowed out from one edge of the mask. _It’s perfect. Too bad my other mask is not as beautiful._

Tamaki, still right behind him, reached out for the mask and traced the scales in awe. “Wow.”

“I know,” Kyoya replied, taking off his glasses and taking out his contacts from the bookbag he had been carrying. 

Soon they were both in their costumes. Kyoya practically blended into the shadows, while Tamaki’s costume was blindingly white, from the lace and paper-mache mask to the specially-designed leather shoes that had been set out for him. _Hikaru’s design for sure. Seems like the twins really did deliver._

“Hey, Kyoya!” Kaoru called out as he entered the back room. “What do you think?”

He smiled as he looked at himself in the mirror. “It looks wonderful. Thank you.”

Kaoru gave a small bow. “You’re very welcome. I wasn’t about to ruin your graduation day for you, after all.”

Tamaki muttered something about being ignored and it was _his_ graduation day, too, and _he_ was the Host Club King and life was _unfair_. Kyoya rolled his eyes as the blond then went to pout in the corner. 

“Okay, now Haruhi should be coming soon. Hopefully we will be ready to host within the next thirty minutes.” He had dropped her back at her apartment before coming to Ouran, and Hotta should be going back to pick her up fairly soon. 

“Kyoya-senpai,” Hikaru began, his voice an annoying drawl.

“I heard that Haruhi spent a lot of time with you yesterday and that she ended up staying over at your penthouse.” Kaoru continued.

"I heard she was in your penthouse until you dropped her off at her apartment before coming here," Hikaru added.

“Don’t tell us that you’re a pervert like Milord!” the twins finished in unison. 

_How do they know about that? It’s my job to figure out everything I can about people and predict how they act, not theirs._ Kyoya’s left eye began to twitch behind his mask. “No. She was tired and fell asleep while we were watching the movie. I carried her to my bed and we both got some rest.”

“Sounds rather...” Hikaru replied.

Kaoru picked up the sentence. “...suspicious.”

“Did you two already forget that you shouldn’t bother me?” Kyoya asked, his onyx eyes flashing through the holes of his mask.

The Hitachiins left the room so quickly that Kyoya almost thought that they had vaporized. Tamaki soon left as well, complaining about the lack of attention he has been receiving.

He quickly went over what he and Haruhi had agreed upon before they had both fallen asleep earlier that day (Haruhi had insisted that he needed more sleep as much as she did).

_“So what else did you want me to do?” Haruhi asked him once she had assured Ranka that nobody had kidnapped her and that Kyoya did not try any “funny business” (Ranka’s words, not his)._

_He went to his closet and grabbed one of his many black suits and ties, along with the mask Akito had given him. He set these on his bed. “I will have to talk with Ootori-san in the middle of the dance. I need you to keep the others occupied so they do not notice that I am gone.”_

_“Why do you already have a suit and mask? I thought the twins were designing our costumes?”_

_“They are,” he assured her. “If you remember much from the blueprints of the school I had you memorize last year, the ballrooms at Ouran are always connected to one of the music rooms, in case the orchestra performing wants to warm up before the event. The ballroom we are having the masquerade dance in conveniently connects to Music Room #3, and the orchestra has been instructed to warm up in Music Room #2. As for the outfit, the mask covers my entire face and has a voice altering device built in. It already has several voices preprogrammed. The suit is basic and will not attract much attention. I am going to change this outfit before going to meet him in the Ouran gardens.”_

_Haruhi still was not convinced. “But won’t it attract more attention if you somehow disappear than if people see you leave Ouran and head for the gardens?”_

_“You’re right in that regard, but you’re forgetting about the Tamaki and the people that guard the entrance and exit during special events. If Tamaki sees me leave or hears from a guard that I left, he would get melodramatic and try to get people to follow me. It is not like I could exactly slip past the guards in whatever costume the Hitachiins design for me. It would be too obvious to them that it is me. If I wear this, I can get past them without revealing my identity, and then Tamaki will have to assume that I am somewhere in the crowd and that he isn’t looking properly.”_

_“That makes sense,” Haruhi admitted. “Kyoya, can you do something in return?”_

_His brow furrowed, but it was more out of surprise than anything else. “Sure, I suppose.”_

_She bit the corner of her bottom lip. “I want to tell everyone that we are together. I don’t want it to be a secret anymore.”_

_His eyes widened, and his voice became a whisper. “Just like how you didn’t want to hide that you were a girl anymore? You know this will be different, though. The press will get hold of the news.”_

_She nodded. “Yes, but it doesn't seem right to hide it from them. And you’re graduating, so I might never get the chance to again...”_

_He sighed. “I’ll let everybody know during the masquerade dance. I can’t really do it during the graduation ceremony itself, so that’s our best option.”_

_Her doe eyes seemed to sparkle. “Perfect. Thank you, Kyoya! Can I ask you another thing?”_

_“Sure, I suppose.”_

_She took his hand. “I usually prefer kindness and forgiveness, and I know that deep inside you do, too, but that’s not going to work on Ootori-san. You can’t afford to let him push you around. Use your well-built façade to show him why they call you the Shadow King.”_

_“You hate him, don’t you?”_

_She gave a small smile. “He may have meant the best for you before you decided to go to Harvard, but he was not afraid to cast you aside.”_

_His fingers laced with hers as he leaned forward and kissed her. “Thank you. I have been thinking about it, and I think that it’s the best thing to do. It’ll hurt, but I'm not exactly nervous as much as anxious to see it through. It's the only way to end this fight. If I don't act callous towards him, he’ll just keep finding new ways to try to get me back.”_

Soon all the hosts were standing on the steps facing a ginormous ballroom. Haruhi, looking radiant in a beautiful peach ball gown and a mask made out of delicate white lace, seemed positively alarmed by the number of girls in attendance. She played with the locks of her wig, which had been carefully put on and styled by the twins. Kyoya sympathized. While he was glad that his idea was bringing the club a lot of profit, he still hated large crowds.

Tamaki, on the other hand, looked at home. “Welcome, princesses! I am so glad that everyone here decided to come back to Ouran for a few hours before the graduation ceremony! I most certainly miss you all! My heart shall become desolate without all of the beauty and radiance of my princesses!”

Hearts seem to float in the air. “Kyaaa! Tamaki-kun! But you’ll be attending Ouran University, right? Please say you’ll drop by every once in a while!” a few of the girls cried.

Kyoya clapped his hands to get everyone’s attention. “Now, ladies. All of you will have the chance to dance with our king and the other hosts tonight. Tamaki will then choose a winner, and the special lady will receive a kiss on the cheek from and will get to dance with their desired host.”

“Oooooh!” the clients squealed as the orchestra began to play a waltz. The hosts stepped down from the steps and began pairing off. Honey was the first to find a dance partner, giggling as the client gushed about how cute his bunny mask was. 

“Something tells me that I will be the winner,” Haruhi grumbled as Kyoya passed by her.

“Indeed,” Kyoya confirmed, keeping his voice low to ensure that nobody else could hear. “Remember the plan. I’m going to leave in about half an hour.”

She nodded, but then turned to smile at Kanako, who had just joined them. “Would you like to dance, Fujioka-san?” she asked sheepishly.

“Sure,” Haruhi replied warmly, her smile growing as she offered Kanako her hand. Kyoya watched as the pair danced. _She truly is a natural host, huh? Her dancing skills have improved since last year as well. Tamaki must have taught her._

He had not realized that he had been staring until one of his regular clients addressed him, breaking him out of his reverie. “Kyoya-kun, would you like to dance with me?”

 _Might as well dance before I have to go._ He gave a faked smile, bowed, and offered his hand. “Of course, _mein Fräulein_.”

Half an hour later, he slipped through the crowd and, after ensuring that no eyes were upon him, he walked into a narrow hallway that connected the ballroom to Music Room #3. _Now I have five minutes to get changed and go to the Ouran gardens._

He took off his masquerade mask and set it gingerly down on a bench, replacing it with the beaded, full-face mask he had brought with him. He then changed into the black suit, and the transformation was complete. He was a completely different sort of shadow now. 

“Kyoya, I knew you would come,” Yoshio called out confidently as Kyoya entered the gardens.

Behind the mask, Kyoya smirked. _Let the play begin._

“Kyoya? Darling, I thought you’d remember me,” Kyoya replied, his voice sounding high and distinctly feminine. 

Despite the darkness surrounding the two of them, Kyoya could tell that the Ootori patriarch had become rather pale. “Rikona, I-But that doesn't make sense. I know it's not you.”

Kyoya took off the mask. “Well, Yoshio Ootori. How nice of you to want to speak to me again. Tell me, what did Mother do that made you send her away as soon as an excuse presented itself? You loved her, for sure, so why do something like that?”

Yoshio’s eyes narrowed. “Kyoya.”

 _Always the tone of surprise._ He tried to sound as cold and confident as he could. “Did you think I agreed to meet because I wanted to end the game we are playing? Perhaps I gave you too much credit when I was younger. You really are an egocentric, arrogant human being. _Du hast das Spiel verloren_. It is time that you face the truth.” It was eerie how calm he sounded, eerie how much calmer than he was than he had been during his last confrontation with Yoshio.

For the first time in his life, Yoshio looked scared. _Not going to your plan, is it, Ootori-san?_ “German? Since when have you spoken German so fluently? I know that you have taken German for the past three years, but you speak it so well.”

“I taught myself German when I was in middle school. Akito, Fuyumi, and Yuichi later learned it as well. It reminds us of Mother. She lived in Germany for a few years after she married you, after all.” Even after all these years, even after his efforts to forget her, he still remembered her telling him and his siblings stories about her stay in Germany. “I’m inclined to think that she did so to avoid you, just like she has been avoiding you for the past ten years.”

“You worthless pig! How dare you suggest such a thing! I sent her away because she was suicidal! I was protecting you and the others!” 

_He’s quite childish when he’s angry, isn’t he? He’s acting even worse than Akito acts when drunk. I’ve never seen him like this, with the possible exception of our last meeting. He’s usually much more composed._ “Yes, but it was her choice to stay there. Have you disillusioned yourself?”

“How DARE you!”

Kyoya felt his calmness slip ever so slightly. “How dare _I_? How could you have sent her away? How could you have destroyed my childhood and the childhoods of Fuyumi, Akito, and Yuichii? How could you have cast me aside as soon as I said I had no interest in being your heir?”

Yoshio angrily stood up. “I handed you success on a _platter_. Without me, you would have gotten _nowhere_. You are nothing more than a piece of shit.”

His veins turned to ice at such an insulting statement. “It is true that you have taught me the ways of business, but you are wrong in saying that I am nothing without you.” Yoshio froze. “The truth is, _you_ are nothing without _me_. While you may have had the best of intentions for me before I wanted to leave the Ootori Group, I was little less than a valuable pawn to you, nothing but your perfect little puppet. You needed me, but do you know how much you have hurt me ever since Mother left? I wanted to _die_ , but you never noticed. You kept grooming me, hovering the Ootori Group in front of my face, insisting that I do things most adults would fail to do.”

“You wanted to die, just like Rikona? Well, maybe you should have gone about it, then. Or maybe I should have sent you away along with Rikona.”

 _He does not mean it, but that really crosses a fucking line, doesn’t it?_ Kyoya's vision clouded a bit, but then he gave a bitter laugh that silenced Yoshio. “But that doesn’t matter now, does it? I’m not coming back to you, and I’m not working for the Ootori Group. I wanted to do this more peacefully, but you made it pretty clear that that is not an option.”

“Kyoya! You will give back my assets and behave!”

More bitter laughter. “I’m not your son anymore, and I only give respect to those that deserve it. You deserve no such respect. I highly suggest that you stay away from me. And that goes for Haruhi as well. Hurt her, and you'll be sorry." He gave a wan smile. "I've gone through some of your files.” With that, Kyoya put the mask back on his face and headed back to Ouran.

 _Hopefully I wasn’t missed,_ Kyoya thought as he returned to the back room of the music room. _I feel bad for leaving Tamaki like this, but it was Ootori-san’s idea to meet like this. Ootori-san..._

Tears began to gently flow down his face. Yoshio’s words rang crystal-clear inside his head. _Maybe you should have gone about it, then._ Kyoya cupped his face with his hands and practically collapsed onto the bench. _You worthless pig!_

Suddenly, the door opened and Haruhi entered. He looked up at her in surprise, tear tracks glistening on his face. “Kyoya?”

“I did it...” he replied, now staring at his knees. “It's over...”

He felt her arms wrap around his head and press him against her dress. “Hey, it was brave of you to do what you did.”

“Thank you,” he whispered as the last of his tears silently stained the front of Haruhi’s dress.

After he had calmed down, she finally let him go. “You should get changed and go back to the dance. We still have something important to do, and Tamaki’s been searching for you. Like you predicted, he thinks that he just lost you in the crowd.”

He nodded. “Of course. Are you sure you still want to tell everybody?”

“Yes,” she assured him before pressing her lips against his forehead. “I better get going. See you in the ballroom in five minutes?”

He gave her a soft smile. “Yes, see you in five minutes. Just let me change.” With that, he was alone once more. 

As promised, Kyoya soon found himself back in the ballroom. “KYOYAAA! MON-AMI!” Tamaki squealed before attacking him with a glomp. “I’ve been looking for you, but you were here the whole time!” _Speak of the devil._

“Tamaki, really? I didn’t think you could possibly fail to find me, even in a crowd like this,” Kyoya deadpanned.

Tamaki surprised him by letting go. Kyoya was about to thank him for listening when the blond began tapping a fist on his head, as if testing if it were hollow. “You okay? When I attack you like that, you usually glare at me and say something hurtful or sarcastic or both.”

“Do you want me to?” Kyoya smirked. 

Tamaki feigned hurt. “Why do you hate me so much?” Kyoya was about to retort sarcastically when the blond became more serious. “No, really, you’ve changed.”

Kyoya stared at the ground. “Fuyumi told me that, too.”

To his surprise, Tamaki laughed. _People have been shocking me with their laughs lately, haven’t they?_ “Hey, it’s not a bad thing. The best thing you can be is yourself. Haruhi taught us all that, didn’t she?”

Kyoya simply smiled before he noticed that a girl was patiently waiting for Tamaki’s return. “You’re right, I suppose. Now, shall we attend to the clients? It seems that you have left your lady waiting.” The girl in question blushed, and Tamaki made a show of rushing to her side.

Kyoya chuckled before he, too, found a client to dance with. The next forty or so minutes passed by in a blur, with him playing the part of the cool host as he danced with each of his clients in turn. He was careful not to search for Haruhi among the crowd and get distracted from his dance partners, which meant that he was forced to focus on the clients’ fangirling. _At least my clients tend to be more studious and less vapid than those of the other hosts, but it is still annoying._

Finally, it was time to announce the winner of the dance.

“All right, princesses. Before we end the event and before the wonderful graduation ceremony begins, I must pick a winner!” Tamaki announced dramatically.

“Actually, I think I want to say the winner,” Honey giggled cutely, interrupting him.

Tamaki pouted as the girls all turned their attention to the lolita. _So he has figured out that Haruhi and I had a plan of some sort. Now I don’t need to say anything. Thank you, Honey-senpai._

“The winner is...” Honey began, obviously enjoying the suspense that the pause carried with it. “...Haru-chan!”

“What!” a few of the girls exclaimed.

“Haruhi-san?” others called out incredulously.

Renge’s loud laughs could be heard as a machine road to life. A section of the floor parted, and she began to rise into the ballroom. “Ohoho!” she trilled. “How wonderful! Who will the Host Club princess choose?”

The fangirls froze before turning to face Haruhi, their eyes gleaming in anticipation. Haruhi sweatdropped as a spotlight suddenly turned on and brought more attention to her.

 _That’s overdoing it, but as long as it all works out in the end._ Kyoya smiled comfortingly as she made her way to him. “Hello, Kyoya,” she greeted him, her brown eyes shining behind her mask. “You look wonderful.”

 _Stupid compliments._ Kyoya felt heat rise to his cheeks before she pulled him down into a kiss — not a small kiss on the cheek, but a tender kiss on the lips.

The clients and Renge all cheered. “I knew it!” Renge squealed in excitement. “I knew that our beloved Haruhi was in love!”

A beautiful nocturne played as Kyoya offered her his hand. “May I have this dance, love?”

Her eyes twinkled. “Of course.”


	27. Lilies

It is not often that one finds Kyoya Ootori in a place such as a cemetery, but there he was, standing in front of a seemingly endless array of tombstones that Sunday morning. A bouquet of delicate white lilies was held in his arms. 

Kyoya thought he finally understood why cemeteries were often the subjects of both the macabre and the romantically dark. It was as if the cemetery demanded the silence that hung oppressively like storm clouds on a hot, summer day. There truly was something beautiful and horrifying about people’s reverence for the long dead, he decided. 

Then again, what was a grieving person to do but to honor the one who they had loved most? 

Was that why he was here as well? He was not entirely sure, but he knew that he had to come to this place before meeting his mother. An intense sadness washed over him as he read the worn out name on the grave directly in front of him. 

_Kotoko Fujioka_

Footsteps suddenly broke the silence. “Kyoya?” a familiar voice called out in surprise.

Kyoya froze. _What is she doing here now? She comes here once a week, but I didn’t think she came on Sunday mornings. I know it’s not the anniversary of Kotoko’s death and it’s not her birthday, either. I suppose Haruhi just felt like visiting her mother this morning._ “Haruhi?”

“What are you doing here?” she asked, looking confused as she came closer. “I usually come every once in a while to visit, but why…”

He handed her the flowers. “I brought some lilies. Were they not her favorite?”

The bouquet was hesitantly accepted. “Yes, but what are you doing here?”

He sighed. “I don’t really know, actually. I just thought that I should come here before I see my mother later.”

“Oh.” She looked down at the lilies, and Kyoya thought he saw a small tear slide down her face. “The flowers are wonderful.”

“Lilies are supposed to represent purity. They do seem to have an aura of innocence about them.” _They also symbolize transience and death, as a soul is said to become pure after one dies. This is why the lily is called the flower of death._

She gave a small chuckle. “That’s interesting. They do look innocent and beautiful.” She sighed. “Mom loved the white ones the best. She once told me that they are like soft moonbeams.”

He watched as she sat on the grass, which was still damp with dew. “Soft moonbeams. I like that.”

She nodded. “I do, too.”

He sat down next to her, not caring that his jeans would get dirty, and closed his eyes. It was the most he could do for Haruhi and for her mother’s memory. 

_Fujioka-san, you never got to know me, but I’m your daughter’s boyfriend. Her boyfriend, can you believe that? I’m sorry that I took so long to speak to you, even though I doubt you can hear me right now. For some reason, I couldn’t get myself to pay you my respect at the family shrine Haruhi and Ranka made for you. I hope this makes up for it._

_Did you know that Haruhi is planning on becoming a lawyer, just like you were? I’ve heard you were an excellent lawyer, and it seems that Haruhi will be one, too. I wish you could see who she has grown up to become. Ranka says that she got your brains and beauty. I don’t doubt it. She’s so smart and determined, and I don’t think I’ve ever met someone so responsible, mature, and kind. Everything she does, she does with her heart and her loving memory of you._

_I wish I had a family as loving and devoted to each other as yours. My mother was kind enough, and she loved me and my siblings with all her heart, but she was suicidal and got sent away when I was eight. I haven’t seen her since, though I intend to fix that later today. I was left with my three siblings and my father. He wasn’t exactly the best parent, you could say. He expected the best out of me and my brothers and did not take mistakes and failures well. Because of this, I got caught up in an impossible dream: to somehow please my father and become the family patriarch. Needless to say, it did not go well for me. It took me an embarrassingly long amount of time to figure out that I did not want to take part in the Ootori Group. Now, I’m not a part of the family anymore. I’m freed of my father. I hope you don’t feel sorry for me, because it has made me the person I am today._

_Haruhi helped me a lot the past few weeks as I rode what was essentially an emotional rollercoaster. It seems that it has settled down, and I must say that I am desperately in love with your daughter. I know I don’t deserve someone like her, but after everything, I cannot imagine my life without her. She has become a sort of fixture in my life, a pillar of stability in the world of my chaos. I genuinely hope that she thinks of me as her pillar, too, because I don’t plan on ever leaving her side. Even though I will be spending an entire school year on the other side of the world, I will help and support her as needed. I’m sure that it is what you would have wanted for your daughter, and I love her too dearly to do anything less, anyway._

She finally spoke to him again, bringing him back to reality. “Is it strange that I want to follow her example and become the best lawyer I can be?”

Kyoya’s fingers laced together in his lap. “No, it’s not. I think I might have told you this before, but I’m sure you’ll be an excellent lawyer, just like your mother.”

“Thank you. I just want her to be proud.”

 _Oh, I understand now._ “You know, it’s actually fairly strange that we all strive for perfection.” 

“Hmm?” She set down the bouquet of lilies down on the grave.

Kyoya inhaled deeply and sincerely hoped that his intuition was correct. Otherwise his words would be entirely inappropriate. _And slightly hypocritical. Haven't I been trying to achieve perfection my whole life?_ “When we read or watch something, what characters are the ones that we relate to the most? The flawed ones. Something about them being human makes us interested in them. But when we look at ourselves and others, the same flaws are undesirable. I mean, we should all strive to improve ourselves and generally be good people to one another, but why do we beat ourselves up over things that we can’t change? Why do we judge others for their flaws? Is it because we fail to see the backstory?" His voice then dropped to a whisper, as if he were talking mostly to himself. "Is it more wrong to judge someone for their flaws without understanding their background or more wrong to be so blinded by someone's background that we fail to see their flaws?”

She frowned, deep in thought. “That’s certainly interesting. I've never really thought about this before, but you have a way with words.”

“Really? I’ve just had a lot of time to think lately, that's all.” He stared at the ground. “Haruhi, your mother was human, just like the rest of us, with a good heart, a caring nature, and her own unique quirks. It is the fact that she is human that makes her worth honoring, yes? And you and I are human, too, for the better or for the worse. I'm not sure that helps, but that's how I see it.” 

A soft smile lightened her face temporarily. “For whatever reason, that _does_ make me feel a lot better. Thank you, Kyoya.” 

His gaze now rested over the bouquet, watching the delicate petals press into the earth. “Don’t thank me. It was just as much for me as it was for you.”

He felt her shift beside him, and then her head was lying on his shoulder. “I know. Still, it helped.” Even so, he could sense that the slight happiness she had received from what he had said had faded away, leaving the atmosphere rather melancholy. “I miss her.”

He bit his lower lip. “You are a lot like her, if Ranka is to be believed.”

He heard a small sniff. “I know,” she repeated, more quietly this time. "You told me that before." There was another tiny sniff.

He put an arm around her and gently rested his own head on hers. “It’s okay,” he whispered, giving her a gentle squeeze.

She melted onto his side, and they sat in a deep, painful silence for a long while before she finally spoke again. "I’m going to miss _you_ , too. What if I don’t get into Harvard?”

He slowly lifted his head to look at her and smiled as he brushed a stray strand of hair off of her forehead. “You can’t get rid of me that easily, Haruhi Fujioka. I promise that we will figure something out.”

“Thank you.”

Suddenly, a realization hit him. “I think you are just as afraid of losing the ones you care about as I am.”

“You think so?” she asked, curious. “I guess you’re right. I am. But that’s not why I have a hard time with romance. I think it’s because I want such a relationship to be honest and true, much like how my parents’ relationship was. They were always happy and loved each other dearly, and I dream of one day having something like that.”

 _This is a strange subject to have at her mother’s grave, yet it makes sense._ “I see.”

“What about you? What do _you_ want in love?”

 _What do I want? That’s a question I haven’t been asked before. What do I want?_ “If you had asked me that a few years back, I would say that I want merit. I want to love someone who brings an advantage to the Ootori Group. But I am not a part of the Ootori Group anymore, and I think sometime after I met Tamaki that I was never going to be content with an arranged marriage.” He paused to think. “I suppose I want to be in love, and I want to be happy.”

“That’s sweet. Are you happy with me?” She stood up, and her doe eyes stared at him expectantly.

 _Did she just ask such an obvious question?_ He got up and embraced her tightly. “Haruhi, you must be out of your mind. Being with you has made me the happiest I have ever been.”

Her face turned red. “I love you, too. Thanks for coming here.”

“Of course.” 

She gasped when she took out her phone to look at the time. “Are you still visiting your mom this afternoon? I’ve kept you and…” She began to fuss and mumble something about being annoying.

He smiled. “Haruhi, it’s fine.”

“Thanks.”

He gave a small chuckle. “You’ve thanked me enough. Will you be fine if I just drop you off at your apartment, or do you want me to stay with you longer?”

She looked torn, but then she shook her head. “But I’ve already taken up a lot of your time! I'll walk home myself. I’ll be fine.”

He lifted his hand and let it rest on her cheek. “I can stay if you want. I have some time before Fuyumi is supposed to pick me up.”

“Will you?” she asked him, hope dancing in her eyes.

He kissed her forehead. “Why not?”


	28. Meeting Rikona Ootori

Fuyumi’s driver came right on time. 

Kyoya, for once in his life, detested the punctuality. His heart beat erratically as Fuyumi stepped out of the car and ran over to greet him.

“Kyoya!” she cried. “Are you ready?” She fussed with his hair and the collar of his shirt. 

He frowned at her agitation. _And I thought I was nervous about meeting my mother. She’s a wreck. Perhaps it’s because it was all her idea and she fears that it will not go as well as she wants it to go?_ Whether it was out of anxiety and impulse or not, there was no need to fret about his appearance, considering that he had taken a shower and had put on a clean and well ironed set of clothes after coming back to the penthouse. He was not one to slack on his appearances, even if he _was_ a mess both mentally and emotionally. “I’m fine,” he mumbled, trying to push her hands off of him. This made her fret even more. “I’m fine, sis,” he repeated more clearly.

She pouted. “I worry, okay? This is a big deal! What if it goes wrong? What if seeing Mom makes everything worse for you?”

He froze as he realized Fuyumi had called Rikona “Mom” instead of Mother. He was sure that Fuyumi had referred to Rikona as Mom when they had last spoken to each other, and Haruhi always called her own mother Mom, but for some reason it was at that moment that the word hit him. _Mom. She was always Mom or Mommy back then. When did I start calling her Mother? When did Akito and Yuichi start calling her Mother?_

He ran his fingers through his hair, and the motion immediately reminded him of Haruhi. This made him smile a little, and his nerves slowly ebbed. “I want to see her. Don’t worry so much about me, all right?”

With this he stepped into the car. Fuyumi followed, looking more nervous than ever. After a few minutes of watching her nervously drum her fingers on her lap, Kyoya felt like he had to do something. _Wouldn't it be best to bring up something random to try to distract her from her worries?_ Perhaps it would get his own mind to calm down, too.

“Did Yuichi tell you that he and his wife are going to have a child?”

She gasped, sparkles dancing in her eyes. “No, he didn’t! That’s so exciting! We are going to have a little Ootori to play with! Ooooh! It is about time I become an aunt!”

He could not help but chuckle, grateful that Fuyumi was finally acting like herself. “I thought that he would have brought it up during graduation, as that was the one time he could guarantee that you and him would be at the same place.”

Fuyumi nodded glumly, her enthusiasm wilting once again. “That was the most time me and Yuichi spent together in a long while, and he didn’t bother telling me.”

 _Nice going, Kyoya. She was happy until you brought that up._ He gave a fake shrug. “Oh well, Yuichi will always be Yuichi. I only found out because he slipped up.” Memories of that day came back to him, including the little wave Yuichi had given him before leaving. 

Her nose wrinkled. “Really? That’s funny.” Kyoya smiled as she laughed. “Anyway, I loved your graduation speech.”

 _You already told me that before._ Kyoya chuckled at the memory of his speech. As the top student and class representative of the graduating class, he had been required to speak during the ceremony. He had cobbled together a cheesy but convincing speech about hard work and friendship. While he did put a bit of his heart into it, he was still somewhat confused when it managed to move the audience and bring some of them to tears. Several girls, Fuyumi and a few of his clients at the Host Club, actually had begun to wail and ran to Kyoya afterwards to express how wonderful his speech had been. Even Yuichi, when he had found him during the party that followed the ceremony, had praised him for the speech.

Yuichi had done that mostly to start a conversation so that he could “subtly” interrogate Haruhi (who had mostly stuck to Kyoya’s side after the ceremony was over), but _details_. At least Yuichi’s congratulations had been mostly sincere, ulterior motive aside, and at least Yuichi had seemed impressed by Haruhi. It felt nice knowing that Yuchi was proud of him, even if Yoshio was not.

“Thank you,” Kyoya finally replied.

She sighed, and Kyoya braced himself for what he knew was coming. “Do you remember anything about Mom?”

He pursed his lips. _What do I remember?_ “I remember more than I care to admit.” 

She gave a sad smile. “You’ve tried to forget, but you couldn’t, could you?”

He shook his head. “I couldn’t. She loved to teach us. I remember that she once told me all about yeast and fermentation when we made bread together. She would take us out to look at the night sky and then give us mini astronomy lectures. But that was when I was really young. When I was six, I think, she began staying in bed a lot, but she would still make time for us. You and I were particularly fond of storytime, even though _you_ are almost ten years older than I am.” She seemed to not hear the jab. In fact, she only brightened at his words. “Even Yuichi and Akito would come in and listen to her read a story before we went off to bed.”

Fuyumi giggled. “I remember storytime! It was so much fun, wasn’t it? Father didn’t approve, though.”

He gave a thin-lipped smile. “That’s true.”

She reached for his hand, and he laced his fingers in hers. “Kyoya, I don’t think I ever really understood you.”

He laughed, surprising both Fuyumi and himself. “No, you understand me more than most. With the exception of Tamaki and Haruhi, I don’t think anyone else is as good at reading me as you are.”

Fuyumi laughed, and her curls bounced along with her. “Then the others don’t know you at all.” She gave his hand a gentle squeeze and continued laughing.

"I must admit that that is true," he confessed. _When she’s acting like herself, she reminds me of a whirlwind. A female, dark-haired Tamaki._

The so-called whirlwind looked out the window and grinned. “Hey, we are almost there! Are you ready?”

“Not really,” he admitted. “I don’t know what to expect, which is never a good sign. But I’m definitely going to see her anyway."

She looked ecstatic. “Yay! Okay!” 

A minute or so later, the car stopped in front of a rather modern-looking multi-story building. Kyoya thought it looked rather like a hospital crossed with an apartment complex and then outfitted with a copious amount of gleaming glass. _So this is where she stays. If the facilities are as great as the exterior looks, then I suppose I understand why she doesn’t leave._

As soon as they got out of the car, she gave him a bone-crushing hug. “Fuyumi, at this rate I really will die from you hugging me too hard.”

She gave an offended gasp. “I thought we agreed that that was funny and was never going to happen! How dare you suggest my hugs will be the end of you.” Fake tears complimented her words.

Kyoya rolled his eyes and chuckled. “All right. May I go in now?”

She made a lightning-fast recovery. “Yes, let’s go.”

His nerves seemed to tangle together in an anxious knot as he entered the building. His stomach turned violently, as if filled with coiled snakes instead of the standard butterflies. He tried to focus on his surroundings, hoping that the distraction would take his mind off of the situation. 

It did not. 

It seemed that the interior did not match the exterior after all. The place certainly smelled like a hospital, the familiar scent of disinfectant filling the halls. The white walls, as if to highlight how sanitary and official the place was, managed to look severe and gloomy instead of bright and comforting. This was shocking considering the copious amount of golden sunlight coming through the large windows. Many men and women, all wearing white coats and faces lined in permanent stress and overwork, bustled around the floor.

It was exactly like a hospital.

He hated it.

Fuyumi seemed to understand, and she took his hand again. “Come on,” she told him softly. “She’s this way.”

“Okay,” Kyoya half-muttered as he was led down a corridor lined with mahogany doors, all of which had gold name-plates and peepholes. They were in alphabetical order, and his heart skipped several beats as they got to the O’s. 

Fuyumi stopped in front of a door, and he thought he was going to be sick. “Here we go. She’s behind this door.” 

His voice quivered hesitantly as he spoke. “I...Please go with me.” _God. I sound like a little child. Thanks, writer. You really had to do that, didn’t you?_

She looked indignant. “Did you really think that you were going alone? I want to see her too! It’s been a few months since I last came here.”

He nodded gratefully and took deep, greedy breaths to steady himself. “Thanks, Fuyumi. Okay, I’m ready.”

She knocked on the door, and Kyoya took one last deep breath.

The door opened, and a worn-looking but beautiful woman appeared in the doorway. Immediately, Kyoya recognized her. While Rikona had gotten more thin since the last time he had seen her, her round eyes and soft smile had not changed over the years. Her long chocolate hair, so familiar to him, was put in a simple but elegant bun. He admired how well put-together she was despite staying in a place such as this. _She really does look a lot like Fuyumi. Except for the hair, of course._

“Fuyumi! How nice to see you again!” Rikona greeted Fuyumi warmly. Her voice was soft and melodic, strangely reminiscent of Fuyumi’s but slightly lower.

Suddenly, her eyes fell upon him, and a soft “oh” escaped her lips. 

Fuyumi gently stepped to their mother’s side and put a hand on her shoulder. “Mom, this is Kyoya. Do you remember him? You wanted to meet him, right?” 

Rikona’s lip quivered, but her voice was amazingly steady when she spoke again. “Kyo, you finally came.”

 _Kyo. She used to call me Kyo. I can’t believe she remembered that._ “Hi, Mom,” he told her, his voice shaking slightly. _Damn nerves._

Before he knew it, her arms were around him. “Oh my god. I haven’t seen you in so long. How many years has it been, Kyo?”

He melted into her embrace, letting comfort wash over him. “Ten years, Mom. Ten years. I’m so sorry for not coming earlier.” He could not possibly describe it, but there was a certain _warmth_ that came from Rikona's words and her kind, motherly gestures. It washed over him, soothing his nerves from earlier. 

She let go of him and looked at him in shock. “Why are you sorry? I’m the one that left.” Her expression softened as she gently put a hand on his cheek. “You’re so tall now. So handsome, too.”

Warmth rose to his cheeks, and he gave a little laugh. “Thank you.”

This made Rikona’s smile grow, but then she stepped into the room and motioned for them to enter. “Why don’t you two come in? There’s so much to catch up on.”

Kyoya smiled as he walked inside. The inside of the room was not like the too-white hallways. It was nice and cozy, furnished with a comfortable-looking bed, maroon armchair, a bookshelf filled with books (his heart warmed at the sight), and a wooden desk where she had apparently been writing something before they had arrived. There were two doors on the left wall, which he suspected led to the bathroom and to a walk-in closet.

He thought of the suite he had stayed in a few years ago when he, his brothers, and Yoshio had travelled to Switzerland. Unfortunately, he had been a last minute addition to the trip, so when Yoshio found out that the chalet did not have an extra deluxe suite, Kyoya had been put in one of the smaller suites. This _had_ been done out of necessity and not out of cruelty, and the trip _had_ been rather fun despite the fact that they were there for business, but it had still upset him somewhat. Now all Kyoya thought about was how beautiful the suite had been and how closely it resembled Rikona’s room.

She sat on the bed and gestured for them to sit next to him. “How have you been, Kyo? You must tell me everything.”

“I’m fine, Mom. My graduation was on Friday. Did you know that?”

She looked appalled. “Your graduation? Oh dear, it really has been too long. Will you be attending Ouran University once school starts, then?”

He shook his head with a smile. “You won’t believe this, but I’m attending Harvard.”

Her eyes widened. “Harvard? That’s wonderful news! Did _you_ know that I went to Harvard?”

“I’ve heard, yes. But I didn’t know until after I got accepted.” His smile grew. 

“Has Yoshio been troubling you? I know how he acted with Yuichi and Akito, and I know that he must have been even harder on you.” Worry lined her brow.

He bit the corner of his lip. He had been hoping that she would not ask him about that. “Mom, I’m not part of the family anymore.”

She seemed to freeze. “What do you mean?”

“I’ve been disowned. But it’s not what you think, so don’t worry. It’s actually been nice. I live by myself and have a lot of money.”

Her smile surprised him. “That actually makes me happy, then. Yoshio must really have given you a hard time, then. I kept telling him not to treat his children like that, but he never changed, did he?” 

Kyoya shook his head. “No. If anything, he has gotten rather nasty since I was accepted into Harvard.”

To his surprise, her smile widened. “I’m glad you’re away from all that. You know, you used to be so bubbly and eager to share what you know. Such an adorable little nerd. You were also somewhat devious, but we can let that slide, can’t we?”

 _She used to lightly tease Yuichi and Akito back then, too._ He suddenly realized where Fuyumi got at least some of her personality from. Rikona was a cross between him and Fuyumi, he decided. “ _Mom…_ ” Beside him, Fuyumi laughed.

But then Rikona was not smiling anymore. “You’re not like that anymore, are you? You seem rather quiet and mature for your age.”

“A lot has happened to him, Mom,” Fuyumi informed her. “A lot.”

Kyoya only nodded. 

Rikona shook her head. “Let’s change the subject from my wonderful husband, shall we?” she asked, brightening. He could tell that some of this enthusiasm was fake, but decided to let it be. If she did not want to talk about Yoshio, so be it. “A handsome man like you must have a girlfriend, right? Anyone special?”

Fuyumi snorted as he turned pink. “Yes, actually,” he finally answered.

Rikona’s eyes seemed to sparkle. “Really? Oh, you simply _must_ tell me about her.”

“Her name is Haruhi Fujioka. She’s a scholarship student at Ouran and will be a third-year once spring break ends. That should give you an idea of her character. It’s not easy being a commoner in a school full of rich and academically inclined students. She’s _very_ kind, smart, ambitious, and simply does not care how other people see her. She wants to be a lawyer.” 

Rikona looked impressed. “Interesting. You should bring her over sometime before you go to Harvard.”

He grinned. “I will see if she’s interested. Oh, I should tell you how I met her. It’s quite entertaining.” He explained about the Host Club and how she had come into the room during her first day at Ouran and had broken a vase worth eight million yen.

Rikona and Fuyumi (whom he had never actually told this story to, even though he had told her a _lot_ about Haruhi during chapter 5) both doubled over in laughter. “Jeez, Kyoya. So you became her debt collector?” Fuyumi asked him in between laughs.

He gave an innocent smile. “Yes, sort of.”

“Seems like you are still a _bit_ like your old self. Simply devious,” Rikona chortled. “She seems wonderful, Kyo, and I can tell that she makes you happy.”

Kyoya gave a little chuckle. “She definitely does.”

Fuyumi suddenly seemed to recall something. “Oh, Mom, didn’t you have something for him?”

Rikona’s eyes widened slightly. “Oh, I do!”

Kyoya watched her, intrigued, as she went to the bookshelf to grab something. “Close your eyes, okay?” He did what she asked, and he felt her sit down next to him and hand him a rather light, book-like object. “Here, I wanted to give this to you. I would have left it for you if I’d known how long it would take to finally see you again.”

He slowly opened his eyes and found himself staring at a signed first-edition copy of _The Great Gatsby._ His breath seemed to catch in his throat. While he had never read it, he knew that the story was rather famous and was at a loss as to how she had obtained such a valuable copy. “How did you get this?”

Rikona took his hand. “A friend gave it to me some fifteen years or so ago, can you believe it? It’s in good shape, too. I want you to have it, because I feel that you’d really like the story.”

“Thank you.” He stared at the book for a while before finally looking back up at Rikona. “But what about you? How have you been?”

She shrugged. “I’ve been doing pretty well. The doctors here mostly leave me be. It’s actually been a while since I was truly a patient here.”

He nodded. “Do you like it here, then? Don’t you ever want to go somewhere else?”

She surprised him with a short laugh. “It’s _nice_ , but I do intend on leaving sometime soon. I’ve actually been thinking about moving to Germany again. I truly loved the place.”

This shocked both him and Fuyumi. “Really?”

“Yes, but I still haven’t gathered the courage to get away from this place. You and I are somewhat similar, Kyo, but I’m not as brave as you are.” She squeezed his hand, which she still had not let go of yet. “It may still be a year or two before I finally leave.”

 _I’m not brave at all. Overwise I would have left the Ootori Group a long time ago. It’s only because of Haruhi that I decided it was worth trying._ He returned the squeeze. “That’s all right. I had a hard time when I was disowned, too. It’s not easy moving away from something familiar to you. I don’t know how I would have managed without Haruhi.”

She smiled warmly. “You are so kind, Kyo. Your heart hasn’t faded away, despite everything. I’ve almost forgotten how sweet you could be.” She turned to Fuyumi. “Remember when he made a poem for me for my birthday one year?”

Fuyumi giggled. “Oh yeah. Didn’t you show it to me sometime last year? He was a rather precocious four year old, wasn’t he?”

Kyoya raised an eyebrow. "I wrote a poem for you when I was four?”

Rikona seemed to not have heard this, instead getting up to grab a small navy-blue binder from the bookshelf. “Here,” she said, leafing through the pages in the binder before finally stopping on one. “Isn’t it sweet and adorable?”

His eyebrow rose even higher as he carefully took the binder from her and read the short poem.

_Mommy_

_Thank you._

_Thank you for the stories before bed._

_Thank you for the nice things you have said._

_Mommy,_

_You are the best!_

“Cute,” Kyoya finally said.

While he appeared somewhat amused, his vision became a little cloudy. He realized that the poem had actually brought him to the edge of tears, not because the poem was beautiful (it was cheesy and silly, as far as he was concerned), but because it reminded him of a time where he was so innocent and naïve, a time when his biggest worry was deciding what to play with Rikona and Fuyumi (or maybe even Yuichi if he was lucky). _So this is what my four-year-old self thought of as good poetry. I suppose it actually is pretty good for someone so young._

“I know, right?” Rikona beamed. Then her expression softened. “Thank you for coming. I’ve missed you so much.”

He gave a little sniff, but refused to cry. “I’ve missed you, too.”

Fuyumi, as dramatic as ever, wailed and pulled both of them into a hug. They sat in relative silence for a while, huddling in each other's warmth.

_Thank you, Mom, for everything._


	29. The Host Club Returns to the Sun and the Sea

As soon as Kyoya stepped into the penthouse, Tamaki launched himself at him.

“MON AMIII! I’ve been waiting ~” This was accompanied by a massive hug.

“For what?” Kyoya deadpanned, trying to get out of Tamaki’s embrace. He had not gotten much sleep Friday and Saturday night because he had been so nervous about meeting Rikona, and unfortunately fatigue was beginning to get to him now that he was much calmer and in close proximity to his bed.

“Daddy wants to spend some time with Mommy!” the blond announced dramatically. Then he pouted. “So where have you been? I felt so _lonely_ here all by myself.”

 _Then why didn’t you leave?_ “I was visiting my mom,” he confided.

Tamaki looked confused. His violet eyes bored into him as if he could potentially find the answers there. “Your mom? You never told me anything about her and...”

Kyoya clicked his tongue impatiently. “That’s because I haven’t seen her since I was eight. This was the first time in ten years that I saw her.”

Violet eyes widened imperceptibly as understanding dawned upon Tamaki. “Oh. Yet you did everything you could to reunite me with my mom.”

“Why wouldn’t I? You may be an idiot, but you _are_ my best friend.” He gave the blond a small smile. “I haven’t seen you much lately. Outside of school and the few Host Club meetings we had before spring break started, the only time we really talked last week or so was during graduation.” _It’s been a while since he invited himself to my place so the two of us can hang out, which is strange considering how often he liked to come over to annoy me over little things._

Tamaki looked despondent. “I’m sorry. You went through all of this and I wasn’t really there for you. Sure I gave you that laptop and had us watch _The Lion King_ together, sure the twins and I spent time with you later that day, and sure I gave you that cup of coffee that day you saved the Host Club (again), but I never really stopped by to really check on you or to just hang out.” The blond turned slightly red. “I just wanted to sort out my feelings, you know. I’m happy for you and Haruhi, but it just takes some getting used to.”

Kyoya nodded, not surprised by this at all. While he had been immersed in his own sea of troubles, he had not failed to notice that while his best friend was as enthusiastic as always and was happy for him and Haruhi (he remembered how quickly his friend’s heartbreak had faded that day he had told him about his feelings for her), Tamaki and the twins were still not completely comfortable with their relationship yet. 

Tamaki brightened. “But now I think I have everything figured out! I want us to be best friends again, and that means I will annoy you till the end of time!”

Kyoya groaned. _At least he’s self aware._

Tamaki could not help but smile when Kyoya fell fast asleep in the middle of the movie they had been watching.

The blond visited him at least three times a week for the next three months, to Kyoya’s ~~immense irritation~~ pleasant surprise. Even when school started after spring break, Tamaki made a point to visit as often as he could. They watched movies together (Tamaki insisted they watch the cheesiest movies in existence), played chess (Kyoya always won, leading to the blond growing an entire forest of exotic fungi in his bedroom that Tachibana had to remove after every visit), and ate under his kotatsu (Tamaki insisted that he keep it out despite it no longer being winter, arguing that he would be leaving for Harvard soon and that they would not be able to enjoy times like this as often anymore). Still, despite the many inconveniences, Kyoya managed to enjoy the times they spent together. It felt nice to have his best friend back, though it would have to be a cold day in hell before Kyoya would admit such a thing. 

Kyoya spent quite a bit of time with Haruhi as well during this time. Once spring break ended, this often came in the form of study dates. Being a third year now, she was swamped with homework and assessments. Thus they somewhat quickly fell into a pattern: Haruhi would assist Aijima with cooking dinner when she visited, while Kyoya helped her prepare for quizzes and tests, as well as the exams she would have to take for the universities she was considering. 

One weekend, Kyoya took her to see Rikona. To his great amusement, an unsuspecting Haruhi had been teased and fawned over during the entire duration of the visit. _“You are so cute! No wonder you are so popular at Ouran. And you have such a wonderful attitude that perfectly complements my Kyo’s own personality, too!”_ Haruhi later complained that while his mom was incredibly nice and loving, it seemed that Rikona shared Kyoya’s love of teasing her. 

Needless to say, she had not been pleased when this was met with a smirk.

Then summer vacation rolled around, and Tamaki went about making extravagant plans for vacations involving the entire Host Club. Naturally, at least 80% of these plans were nearly impossible and were immediately shut down. The rest did not work out because at least one of the hosts had pre-existing commitments.

However, just when Tamaki was about to admit defeat, an opportunity presented itself. Yuichi invited the entire club to the Ootori private beat at Okinawa, saying that it would do Kyoya some good to go out more often. While Kyoya disagreed with this sentiment, he accepted the offer.

Now he was sitting on a large beach towel, reading _The Great Gatsby_ for what seemed like the hundredth time and bathing in the golden warmth of the sun. Everything was as it should be. Honey and Mori were searching for seashells (it seemed that they were now a permanent feature on the beach after the Black Onion Squad had covered the place with shells the last time the hosts visited the beach). Haruhi was helping them, no doubt trying to find as many crabs as she could for dinner later. _Hopefully she doesn’t eat until she gets sick like she did last time. Oh god, that brings back some memories, doesn’t it?_ The twins were playing beach volleyball and generally making a scene. Yuichi was speaking to some men on another part of the beach, undoubtedly attempting to forge some kind of alliance with them. Tamaki and Renge, surprisingly, were discussing who-knows-what while walking around the beach. Kyoya was not sure exactly what was going on there, and he hated to jump to conclusions, but he was glad that his friend was at least attempting to move on and find someone that made him happy. The blond deserved it.

He gave a small sigh of contentment. Perhaps Yuichi had been right in a way. He really _did_ need to relax a bit. 

He heard Haruhi approach. _So she found all the crabs we need, huh?_ “Hey, Kyoya.” She gave him a little kiss before sitting down next to him. He smiled as she stretched and made herself comfortable. “Are you reading that book again? Your mom gave that to you, right?”

His smile grew. “Yes. She was right about it being a good story.”

She hummed in response. “There’s always something special about things which once belonged to your parents.”

“Indeed. I suppose that’s why I find the book so special,” he agreed. He doubted that he would have loved _The Great Gatsby_ as much as he did if it had not been a gift from Rikona.

“You know, besides hunting for crabs, there isn’t much to do here.” She sighed as if to emphasize this statement.

“We could go back to the villa and do something else if you want,” he teased, giving her a small wink. 

“Did you just _wink_? You know what, I’d rather stay here,” she responded flatly. However, Kyoya did not miss the faint blush on her cheeks that told him that he had succeeded. 

“Then perhaps you should try to enjoy yourself, love.” _Checkmate._

She sighed in surrender, her face returning to its normal color. “Fine, but you owe me for dragging me to this place.”

He did not recall forcing her to come, but he was rather interested in seeing what she had in mind. An eyebrow rose in amusement. “And what do I owe you?”

“Oh, I can think of many things you could do for me.” She surprised him with a kiss, and when they parted, she had a devilish grin and a dark blush on her face. “Since you had seemed so eager before, you could pay me back with your body if you so desire.”

 _Damnit. She got me again._ He flushed pink, adjusted the collar of his shirt, and went back to reading his book. Or at least _acting_ as if he were reading his book, because he currently was too embarrassed to focus.

She gave a little cheer. “Yay! I got you back! You did tell me to enjoy myself.”

 _Once again, she is so happy over such a small thing. It’s adorable._ He could have come up with a snarky comment to bring her back down to Earth, but instead he smiled warmly and let her relish her victory. 

She snuggled up next to him, and he felt her warm skin and gritty sand press against his shirt. He took out a bottle of sunscreen from a bag. “You really should reapply your sunscreen. We’ve been here for a while, and it doesn’t seem like we will be leaving anytime soon.”

“Thanks.” She put on some sunscreen and went back to leaning against him. “I can’t believe that you are leaving in a month.”

He put a hand on her cheek and pulled her into a kiss. “I know, but we’ll be fine. I’ll call you everyday and come visit if I get the chance.”

“Good,” she told him before leaning in again.

“GET A ROOOOOM!” the twins shouted in unison as they chased the volleyball they had been playing with across the sand. In the distance, Honey looked up from the pink conch he had been inspecting to figure out what the Hitachiins had been yelling about.

Haruhi turned red but then responded sarcastically. “Based on how they act while hosting, shouldn’t those two get a room?”

Kyoya snickered. “You have a point.”

“ _Cute_ ,” Yuichi snickered as he snuck up behind the two, his eyebrows raised in amusement.

“WHAT THE HELL!?!” Kyoya and Haruhi exclaimed in unison, practically jumping out of their skin in surprise. The former then groaned and went back to reading _The Great Gatsby_ , while the latter looked as if she had seen a ghost.

The twins bowled over in loud, raucous laughter. “He got Kyoya-senpai! He’s my new hero!” Hikaru choked in between laughs.

“Damn, I never expected Yuichi-kun to pull something like that,” Kaoru added, his laughs somehow doubling in intensity as Kyoya looked up from his book to glare at the twins.

“Great. One Kyoya was enough. Now there’s two of you,” Haruhi deadpanned.


End file.
